There's a Human under that Armor
by Radiation Soap IV
Summary: Overtime, Grey had lost his humanity. His team and his purpose are gone. But a transfer to a new team might give him a chance to redeem himself through friendship, a new purpose and love.
1. Chapter 1

Awesome, my first story. Because my summary wasn't the best thing ever, I'll just give you an explanation. My story follows my own Noble Six, Grey. We're not gonna start off at the events of Halo Reach or when he was that hyper lethal assassin. We start off during his first deployments and we follow him as he loses and regains his humanity. (PS: Grey thinks his humanity is defined through his team and actions). Granted I've had to change a few things to make the story work and so if those are blatantly obvious, I apologize. I guess I should also this my first story on THIS website. I've done some work on but currently I took down most of my stories. So I decided to do some work here! I hope you guys enjoy this story.

Forgot to mention, there's three characters from this Playstation game I used to play in here. Why? Because they're awesome.

Grey, Delilah, Taylor and Albert belong to me.

Noble Team and most other characters belong to Bungie.

Nick, Amad and Ivan belong to Electronic Arts.

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><p><em>Chapter 1: Three Years before the Fall of Reach<em>

_May 14, 2549 16:30 Hours_

_Valre City, Drekk _

_Planet Piltran _

_Grey's ears were ringing and everything sounded muffled. His armor's shields were depleted and his helmet sat beside him. Grey groaned and raised his head up a little. _

_Troopers were running by him at a half-crouch, some shouting something at him. Falcons buzzed overhead, raining grenades and heavy machine gun fire down on the Hunters. Grey slowly looked to his right and his heart stopped. There lying among a small pile of rubble with blood leaking from his chest, was Blue Eight- Kyle Langley. _

_ Grey heaved himself onto his stomach and crawled over to the dead army trooper. He reached out, grabbing his shoulder and shook him. "Kyle…" he didn't answer. Grey repeated his name in a low growl, shaking his dead friend fiercely. Kyle just stared back at Grey with lifeless, unblinking eyes. _

Grey opened his eyes, snapping himself from the memory. He looked around. A sigh escaped his lips as he shook his head. Grey was sitting on a small hill near the coast. The sea air was warm and a gentle breeze rustled Grey's brown hair. The ocean waves quietly lapped at the sandy beaches. It was just another night on the besieged colony of Piltran.

The Covenant had attack ten days ago. The invasion had hit so hard and so fast that before the UNSC garrison could properly react, most of the Drekk peninsula had been overrun and its inhabitants wiped out.

After Drekk fell, the remaining UNSC forces had retreated to the Yonik peninsula. Once there they assisted in the rest of the evacuations but Yonik fell almost as fast as Drekk. To make matters worse, the Covenant had complete control of the space around the colony. No ship could get in, and no ship could get out because there were none left. Slowly the Covenant whittled down the UNSC until only a few Spartan teams, a company of army troopers and some ODSTs with a handful of vehicles remained. Stranded, the small force started fighting guerilla style. But now, their time was up. Everyone knew it.

The whole situation made Grey feel very tired. He had been inspired by Kurt Ambrose, a Spartan II, to be all he could be when they pulled him, Taylor and Delilah out of Beta Company right after training. Grey wanted to make a difference; he wanted to help people, protect colonies and proceed through the ranks. Two colonies later, none of those goals had been achieved. Grey had _not _been able to help people, he had _not _been able to save their colonies and ranking up was impossible when most of the senior officers were dead. He was endlessly tired of failure- of losing this war.

There was a snort beside Grey. He looked over to see ODST Gunnery Sergeant Nick Arnold, asleep with his head resting on Grey's shoulder. Drool trickled from his mouth and he snored loudly. Grey couldn't help but smile at his friend.

"If there's any Covenant nearby he'll expose our position…" said Taylor. Taylor was a fellow Spartan III and was Grey's closest companion. He was observing the Covenant outpost through the scope of his sniper rifle.

"We're fine." Grey assured him. "What time is it?" Taylor looked at the clock on his visor.

"23:00 hours; time to go back to camp." he stood up. "Coming?"

"No…I think I'll stay a little longer. I like it out here."

"Suit yourself. Here, take my rifle." Taylor handed Grey the sniper rifle. Grey nodded his thanks as his fellow Spartan disappeared into the darkness. He turned his attention to Nick, who was still fast asleep against his shoulders. Sleep seemed like a very good idea right then.

But not before long, Grey could hear someone's heavy footsteps approaching him and Nick. Whoever it was, they were on the same trail Taylor had taken. Grey didn't have his helmet on, and couldn't check his motion tracker. His hand went down to his hip, his hand resting on his pistol.

"Grey?" a familiar voice whispered. Grey turned to see Delilah standing before him. "Can I join you?" Grey took his hand of his pistol and patted the grass beside him. Delilah sat down, her armor clanking against his, which stirred Nick a bit. But the ODST remained asleep.

Grey smiled at Delilah. She took off her helmet, letting her short, dirty blonde hair cascade over her freckled face. He reached over, brushing her hair back. Delilah was smiling as Grey's fingers traced over her cheeks. "Hi."

"Hi." Grey reached down and curled his hand around Delilah's. "What're you doing out here?"

"Taylor said you were staying out here for a little while longer. I thought we could get some alone time…" Delilah peeked over at Nick. "I guess that's out of the question." She giggled. Grey smirked and leaned over, giving Delilah a quick kiss. Delilah smiled and rubbed his cheek. "What're you thinking about?"

"Huh?"

"You looked troubled…" Delilah leaned her head against his. "…so tell me what's wrong." Grey blinked a few times. _How does she know? She always knows…_He smiled inwardly, remembering what Nick had said. _Nick's right, Delilah is going to make a perfect wife. _

"It's about Kyle." Grey answered. Delilah's face was now filled with concern. She began to rub his hand. "He was just a kid." Grey felt like he was talking like an old man- he was only two years older than Kyle. Delilah was only a year older than their deceased squad mate.

"You two were close, I know you miss him."

"It was my fault. He was my responsibility, my partner…he trusted me and I let him down. I couldn't save him." Delilah crossed her arms and frowned.

"I know you feel guilty, but you can't do this to yourself. Every time something goes wrong, every time something bad happens in an op or to someone else _you _take responsibility." Grey started to protest but Delilah planted her hand over his mouth. "Please stop. I can't stand seeing you like this. There was absolutely nothing you could have done to help Kyle." Grey looked down a little and nodded.

Delilah sighed and took her hand off his mouth. She put it on his cheek, rubbing her thumb across. "Please?" Grey smiled.

"Okay." He said, but the smiled faded. "Can't help but think about his father too." Delilah inquired, and Grey explained that Kyle had told him a while back that he had lost his two brothers, his sister, and his mother to the Covenant. Grey couldn't imagine how his father was taking it.

"We'll write him a letter once we're off of this planet." Delilah suggested. Grey nodded and quickly looked at her when he analyzed her sentence. Delilah knew it too, and she looked down. "I don't like thinking like this but…"

Grey put his arm around Delilah, pulling her a little closer. "Do you think we'll get off of this planet?"

Grey had to admit, the chances of getting off Piltran seemed very slim. The planet basically belonged to the Covenant. Why the Covenant hadn't started glassing it yet, Grey didn't know. But he didn't want to worry Delilah any more than she was.

"Yeah, I think so." Delilah looked unconvinced but smiled and tucked her head under Grey's chin. They sat peacefully for a few minutes before he heard Albert's voice in his helmet comms. Grey put his helmet on.

"Blue Three, Blue Four, Blue Five this is Blue One, over."

"This is Blue Three, go ahead sir."

"We've just had a situation update- we have a shot of getting off of this planet. Return to basecamp ASAP, over." Delilah's face lit up. Grey smiled.

"Roger that, we're oscar-mike, out. See, what did I tell you?" Grey stood up, knocking Nick over. "Get up Nick, time to go." Nick, still half-asleep, started cursing and slowly gathering his things. Grey put the sniper rifle on his back and checked his DMR.

Delilah pulled Grey close before he could pull his helmet on. Grey looked down at her and Delilah smiled. He thought about making a joke, but Delilah cut him off with a long kiss. As they withdrew, Grey returned the kiss before Delilah could say something corny.

"Cute." Nick mumbled as he shuffled by them, tiredly holding his gear. The two Spartans smiled and put on their helmets and began walking after Nick. Delilah slipped her hand into his. Grey responded with a gentle squeeze.

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><p>I hope that was good enough. I just want to warn everyone that the next chapter is going to be the bios for Blue Team. I'm doing bios because I have a hard time describing characters in actual paragraph form. So in the bios I'll be giving you characteristics, armor configurations and other important info. Thanks for reading.<p> 


	2. Bios

Sorry that it's not a real chapter, but I just wanted to get this out of the way. It's a dossier of Blue Team, our first set of main characters. It'll just show names, roles, armor etc. It's easier for me to explain the characteristics of my…characters this way. I have a hard time explaining their looks in actual writing, something I hope to overcome in the future. Anyways, here we go.

Also I should mention that Blue Team (my first set of characters) is in a fictional experiment where Spartans actively operate with non-Spartans.

And…the characters Nick Arnold, Ivan Uralia, and Amad are not characters of my own creation; these three characters belong to the creators of the STRIKE (specifically Soviet STRIKE) video game series (awesome games). I'm not gonna take credit for them. But Albert, Delilah and Adam are of my own creation. I think I mentioned that in the first chapter. *shrugs*

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><p><strong>Blue Team Dossier <strong>

(Spartans)

_Blue One (Team Leader) _

Name: Albert

Rank: Major

Service Number: S-262

Class: Spartan III, Alpha Company

Unit: SpecWar/GroupOne/Blue

Gender: M

Birthplace: New Manila, Mars

Birth Date: 19/11/2521

Age: 28

Hair Color: Red

Eye Color: Green

Height: 6 ft. 10 in.

Weight: 255lbs

Armor: EOD helmet with CNM attachment and gold visor. Tactical/Recon chest armor, UA/Base Security shoulders and Tactical/Tacpad wrist attachment. UA/NxRA utility and Grenadier knee guards.

Armor Color: Brown (Primary) Blue (Secondary)

Bio: Albert is one of the best tacticians among the Spartan III's. Despite his calm and cool attitude many UNSC troops who have worked with him will say the man is crazy. His plans are daring and risky but always successful with minimal losses. Unfortunately, he always frowns upon his own plans before and after the mission; he sees that even if one soldier is lost during the battle the plan is a failure. As said before, Albert is calm and cool most of the time. He sometimes finds things that non-Spartans say and do very strange and keeps his distance from them besides a select few. Albert has a problem of holding in most of his emotions and never expressing how he feels to his troops. Although he will never tell them, Albert has a very deep attachment to every member of Blue Team.

_Blue Two (Heavy Weapons Specialist/Marksman) _

Name: Taylor

Rank: Lieutenant

Service Number: S-309

Class: Spartan III, Beta Company

Unit: SpecWar/GroupOne/Blue

Gender: M

Birthplace: Pirth City, Arcadia

Birth Date: 27/02/2528

Age: 21

Hair Color: Black

Eye Color: Blue

Height: 6 ft. 5 in.

Weight: 265lbs

Armor: Operator helmet with CNM attachment and gold visor. UA/Counterassault chest armor with ODST shoulders and UA/Bracer wrist attachment. UA/Chobham utility and GUNGNIR knees.

Armor Color: Olive (Primary) Blue (Secondary)

Bio: Taylor is a bit shorter than most Spartans but lacks no ferocity than the rest. His primary duty in Blue Team is their sniper and heavy weapons man, but in reality he's their jack of all trades (as are most Spartans). He does most of the heavy lifting for the team. Taylor has taken it upon himself to do more work than the rest of the team. Because of this he often carries a lot of pressure and weight on his shoulders as he feels that if he makes one mistake he'll let everyone down. But besides this, Taylor is polite and friendly to everyone he meets and has a strong friendship with Grey S-312. In battle, Taylor is very professional. When he's not, Taylor acts like any non-Spartan would.

_Blue Three (Scout)_

Name: Greyson (Grey)

Rank: Warrant Officer

Service Number: S-312

Class: Spartan III, Beta Company

Unit: SpecWar/GroupOne/Blue

Gender: M

Birthplace: XXX, Earth

Birth Date: 10/03/2529

Age: 20

Hair Color: Light Brown

Eye Color: Green

Height: 6 ft. 10 in.

Weight: 245lbs

Armor: Mark V [B] helmet w/ UA/HUL attachments and silver visor. Tactical/LRP chest armor, default shoulders and UA/Buckler wrist attachment. Tactical/Soft Case utility and FJ-PARA knees.

Armor Color: Steel (Primary) Steel (Secondary

Bio: Quiet and reserved, Grey has been noted to be one of the most effective Spartans III's in service. He possesses an eagerness to fight and make a difference- in his words "preserving humanity" by saving entire colonies, helping people individually and as a whole. Grey also has a military desire to be all he can be and progress through the ranks. Unfortunately this late into the war, his dreams aren't exactly coming true, both with military progress and preserving his people. But Grey tries not to let this dampen his ability. He is an extremely skilled warrior who tries to help everyone he can whether they are civilians, Spartans or non-Spartans. Grey views them all the same. Grey cares for each member of his team immensely, especially Delilah, whom he is romantically attached to.

_Blue Four (Medic)_

Name: Delilah

Rank: Warrant Officer

Service Number: S-311

Class: Spartan III, Beta Company

Unit: SpecWar/GroupOne/Blue

Gender: F

Birthplace: New Barbados, Emerald Cove

Birth Date: 04/25/2530

Age: 19

Hair Color: Dirty Blonde

Eye Color: Blue

Height: 6 ft. 8 in.

Weight: XXX

Armor: Security helmet with gold visor. Collar/Breacher chest armor, FJ/Para shoulders and Assault/Breacher wrist attachment. Tactical/Trauma Kit utility and FJ/PARA shoulders.

Armor Color: Violet

Bio: Delilah is talkative and sometimes bubbly, but only when she is out of combat. During a battle, she has been noted to be one of the most deadly members of the team next to Blue Three. Despite her warrior's spirit, Delilah is one of the best medics working in the field. She can treat a simple bullet wound to mental trauma. Delilah is often in a good mood with a smile permanently on her face which causes Spartans and non-Spartans alike to view as an odd sort. Delilah doesn't mind though and wears her title of strangeness proudly, although sometimes Delilah's good outlook becomes doubtful of the team's situation. Delilah is also happily locked in a relationship with Grey (Blue Three). She cares about him beyond anyone's imagination and is always protective of him, knowing that he feels the same way.

(Non-Spartans)

_Blue Five (Assault Specialist) _

Name: Nick Arnold

Rank: Gunnery Sergeant

Service Number: XXX

Class: Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODSTs)

Unit: SpecWar/GroupOne/Blue

Gender: M

Birthplace: (California) United States of America, Earth

Birth Date: 16/08/2519

Age: 30

Hair Color: Black

Eye Color: Brown

Height: 6 ft. 1 in.

Weight: 175lbs

Armor: ODST helmet with UA/CNM attachment; standard ODST battle armor.

Armor Color: Standard ODSTs coloration (Primary) Blue (Secondary)

Bio: Nick is a reckless, hotheaded ODST who was pulled into Kurt Ambrose's idea of mixed squads after he had been on guard duty at Camp Currahee (Spartan III's training camp on Onyx) while recovering from an injury. Despite being at a disadvantage of lacking the armor the Spartans have, Nick is just as effective because of his sheer determination to destroy the enemy. He also has a strong belief that he's one of the best troopers in the UNSC and is basically invincible. Nick has a large collection of movies, music and books from the 20th and 21st centuries; surprisingly he has a strong taste for all three. And to boot, Nick is a family man with a wife and three children waiting for him at home. He may be a ruthless killing machine in his head but in reality he is a wise man who understands what it means to live and love. Nick also a close friendship with Grey and tries to teach many aspects of romance and life to him as he is aware of his relationship with Delilah. This doesn't keep him from teasing the two about it sometimes though.

_Blue Six (Engineer/Hazardous Operations) _

Name: Ivan Uralia

Rank: Lieutenant

Service Number: XXX

Class: UNSC Infantry

Unit: SpecWar/GroupOne/Blue

Gender: M

Birthplace: Ukraine, Earth

Birth date: 02/05/2518

Age: 31

Hair Color: Black

Eye Color: Blue

Height: 6 ft. 0 in.

Weight: 160lbs

Armor: HAZOP helmet variant with CBRN/HUL attachment, standard UNSC Army Battle Dress uniform with HAZOP shoulders.

Armor Color: Standard brown-gray coloration (Primary) Blue (Secondary)

Bio: Ivan is a quiet, philosophical and rather strange man who speaks of death before, during and after a battle. He has accepted death rather than fear it. But he does not obsess over it and still acts like a normal soldier. Ivan has a strong sense of devotion to the human race ever since his accident in his home country. When a nuclear reactor exploded, Ivan was the only man brave enough to fly a chopper above to drop sand on the reactor. These actions saved millions of lives but it came with a cost. Ivan suffered from radiation sickness for several years and only survived through an experimental treatment that actually worked. But Ivan's body is covered with scars, scorches and other noticeable deformities from both the radiation and the treatment. Fortunately, this gave Ivan a strange immunity to radiation so he was an ideal choice for hazardous operations. He takes this "gift" very seriously and has made a promise to make sure what happened to him never happens to anyone else.

_Blue Seven (Pilot) _

Name: Amad

Rank: Warrant Officer

Service Number: XXX

Class: UNSC Air Force

Unit: SpecWar/GroupOne/Blue

Gender: M

Birthplace: North Caucasus, (Southern) Russia

Birth Date: 21/12/2519

Age: 30

Hair Color: Reddish-Blonde

Eye Color: Green

Height: 5 ft. 10 in.

Weight: 150lbs

Armor: Pilot helmet with HUL[3] attachment and standard pilot armor.

Armor Color: Standard pilot coloration (Primary) Blue (Secondary)

Bio: Amad is a wild, cagey Russian man from a warrior race of people who dwell in the mountain passes in the Caucasus Mountains near the Caspian Sea. He always ready for a fight but feels that he's being misused. Amad always wishes to fight on the ground where his real skill in combat can be used but is instead stuck flying a Falcon for Blue Team and other UNSC personnel when needed. This aggravates him extremely. But Amad tries to keep a good attitude and feels his position deeply. And much like Nick, he believes he is invincible. Although he doesn't like it, Amad is a very decent pilot who always has a trick up his sleeve during an operation. Amad tries his best all the time and is generally friendly with the rest of team. Amad unintentionally causes them to laugh with strange, heated lines in his accent during desperate times in a battle.


	3. Chapter 2

I guess this is a good a time as any that I update often. At least I hope I'll be updating often. Chapter 3 is already in the works! The problem is school's gonna be starting...tomorrow. So I might not get to update as often as I'd like to.

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><p><em>Chapter Two: Valley Thunder <em>

_May 25, 2549 09:00 Hours_

_Ican Coast, Yonik _

Albert head decided to withhold his plan until the team was better rested. Now it was morning, and Blue Team was eagerly gathered in a small command trailer. Grey and Delilah stood together at one end of the table. Albert stood on the other end, pointing to multiple highlighted locations on their map. Taylor stood on the left side with Nick while Ivan and Amad stood on the other.

Albert explained that last night he had received a long distance transmission from the Yonik Nuclear Reactor in the northern mountains, specifically near First Landing Mountain. A platoon of ODSTs was holed up in the reactor with some civilians who had been left behind. They were requesting assistance. "So we're going to move our small group, which I am now giving the callsign Task Force 17, to the reactor to reinforce them." Albert was smiling and looked at the confused faces around him.

"Sir, I thought you said this plan was going to get us off planet." Grey finally spoke up.

"Ah, but it will!" Albert paused, gaining a serious look.

Albert's first phase of the plan was for Nick and Grey to take their only Scorpion and break through multiple Covenant defensive lines to push into the mainland. Yonik was relatively flat and grassy with a few hills and swamps dotting the plateaus until it reached the mountain to the north. Task Force 17 would roll quickly across the mainland and move up to the mountain to the Yonik Nuclear Reactor.

Albert went on to explain that the reactor was defended by an impressive array of anti-air batteries. The only problem was the guns were dormant and the survivors holed up at the reactor didn't know how to repair them. Thankfully, Taylor had the knowledge to bring them back online.

Once the guns were operational, they would gain the attention of the closest Covenant ship and hammer it with the anti-air missiles. The Covenant ship would no doubt retreat from the area, leaving a small gap for a UNSC frigate Albert had contacted to pick up Task Force 17.

In one big swoop, Albert explained, the remaining UNSC forces on Yonik would be evaced off planet. And as a goodbye gift, Ivan would overload the reactor so it would detonate as the frigate left, hopefully taking out a good amount of Covenant with it.

"This is a good plan." Taylor said, putting his hands on the table.

"This plan is bat-shit crazy!" Nick exclaimed, jabbing at the map. "But I mean, what else are we gonna do, pack up and leave?" he looked at each team member, expecting a response. The team was silent and exchanged glances with each other. "What?"

"That is the plan, Nick." Albert said slowly. The rest of the team snickered. "But like I said before, you and Grey are going to take our Scorpion and punch through these three Covenant lines. Expect infantry, Shades on every line and light vehicles and Wraiths on the second and third. Do not stop"

Amad got down on one knee and put his arms on the table. He rested his chin on his folded arms and squinted at the map. "Any concerns Amad?"

"Look here, sir." Amad traced a large ridge to the left of the Covenant lines. "Do we know if the Covenant has any troops or equipment up on these cliffs?" Albert shook his head. "Sir, they could have artillery or AA assets on these cliffs. If they do have anti-air, our Falcons will be useless."

"I know that, but we can't let this slow us down. This is our _only _chance of getting out of here." He paused impressively, letting it sink in. Finally Ivan spoke up.

"What are our numbers, sir?"

"There's two other Spartan Teams, Yankee and Renegade. We've got about a company of marines and if you include the troops at the reactor, we've got about a half-company of ODSTs."

"And our assets?"

"The ODSTs have a couple Warthogs. The troopers have a couple too and our Scorpion down near the launching point and including Amad's bird we have three Falcons." Albert drummed his fingers against the table. "I'd like these numbers to be larger but we have to work with what we've got. Nick and Grey, you ready to go?" Nick and Grey exchanged glances and grinned.

Amad dropped Blue Team off at the launching point of what Albert was now calling Operation: DEFIANT STAND. _Pretty lame name…_Grey thought to himself but hopped out of the Falcon with the rest of the team.

Albert quickly started giving orders to the troopers and to the other Spartan teams. Taylor would stay up in the Falcon with Amad to provide extra support. Delilah and Ivan would accompany Albert to coordinate the troopers and Spartan teams that would follow behind Nick and Grey in the Scorpion.

"It's our only one, so try not to break It." The tank's overseer grumbled, pointing his thumb at the armored chariot.

"We'll take good care of her." Nick assured him. He patted Grey's shoulder. "I'll drive." Grey nodded and jumped in the turret position. Before Nick disappeared into the bowels of the tank, he whistled and waved at the crowd of troopers waiting for the battle to begin. Some of the troopers walked over to look up at Nick. Nick put his hands on his hips and stood like a general. He began to speak in a fake English accent. "Alright men, today we need somebody to do a somethin'…do something incredibly fuckin' dumb today!" the troopers chuckled. "And you, Grey, you're the one to do it, aint'cha." Grey nodded and smiled under his helmet. Nick smiled widely. "Then let's lock n' load gentlemen, it's time to rock n' roll!"

Grass and soil was ripped up by the tank as it sped forwards. There was nothing in sight yet. Grey gripped the gun so tightly he was afraid he might rip it right off. His eyes kept glancing over at the cliffs of the ridge to the left.

Overhead, Amad's Falcon and the other two choppers were matching the Scorpion's speed. He saw Taylor wave from above. Grey waved back, glad his friends were looking out for him.

Behind the Scorpion, the rest of Blue Team was in a Warthog accompanied by the other few jeeps. They were keeping pace with the infantry, who were moving forwards steadily.

"Remember Nick; take down all of the heavy equipment. Leave the infantry to the troopers." Grey reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah, sure- first line in sight." Grey focused his sights on the enemy defensive perimeter. The Covenant infantry was scrambling about, trying to assemble around the purple colored barricades.

"We're in range, opening fire!" Nick fired the main gun. The shell flew down range and slammed into one of the Shade turrets. It exploded and took down several enemy squads along with it. Grey began firing the turret, spitting out heavy caliber rounds that tore away at alien flesh.

Nick fired the cannon again. Another Shade turret fell victim to his accuracy. Lines of grunts, jackals and Elites were cut down in the stream of bullets from Grey's turret.

Grey was so wrapped up in the battle that he jumped as Nick went to full speed and rammed through the barricades. Looking over his shoulder, Grey felt a moment of triumph as the Warthogs tore up and the chainguns finished off the remaining Covenant. "Second line is in sight! In range…firing!"

The main gun's barrel lurched as it launched a heavy round into a parked Wraith. The Covenant quickly manned their positions and the remaining Wraiths soon came to life. They began to fire, sending huge clouds of blue plasma through the air at the Scorpion tank. Fortunately, the Scorpion was faster. The plasma blasts landed around the tank, sending columns of soil and grass into the air. Nick fired twice, taking down another Wraith.

Grey started to reload the turret as the tank reached a halfway point between the first and second line. As he did, he noticed that the Falcons pulled off.

"Amad, where's our air cover, it's starting to get a little hot down here!" Grey yelled as an explosion of plasma erupted nearby.

"There are anti-air Shades on the cliffs, just as I predicted!" Grey looked over at the ridge. He could vaguely see the orange colored guns firing medium sized green plasma projectiles into the air. _Fuel-rod Shades…_ "I do not wish to pass through gates of paradise riding on a missile!" Amad yelled into the comms. Laughter filled the comm channel.

"Nick, can we get any shots on the AA Shades?"

"Negative! They're too far back, I can't see'em." Grey thought for a moment and decided it was time to do something incredibly dumb today.

"Amad, pick me up!" Grey cut the Russian pilot off before he could protest. Grey scrambled up on top of the turret. Amad's Falcon quickly descended to him. Taylor reached down and pulled Grey up into the Falcon.

"What's the plan?"

"Amad, drop us right over them. They won't be expecting that. Just don't get hit!" Grey got ready to jump out of the chopper as Amad swore in Russian. Taylor crouched next to him.

"You coulda just asked me to do it." Grey smirked under his helmet.

"We'll go together." They bumped their fists together and jumped out. In midair, Taylor fired his rocket launcher twice. Both rockets hit two different AA Shade turrets. Grey landed on one of the guns, crushing it beneath his armor's weight. Taylor landed on an Elite, killing it instantly.

"Praise be to you; you have the grace, of a pelican!" Amad yelled happily over the comms.

By now Taylor had reloaded and destroyed another Shade. _One more to go…_Grey charged past Taylor and slammed himself into the final Shade turret. The grunt manning it squeaked and began to chatter in its strange alien language. Taylor joined Grey and they began pushing the turret over. Finally the Shade was shaken loose from its gravity stand and tumbled down the cliff.

"The Shades are down." Taylor said into the comms. Grey sat down and sighed.

"That was good." Grey stated and Taylor chuckled.

"Hey yeah, nice kill guys, but can I have my gunner back now?" Nick growled over the comms. Grey looked down at the valley. Nick had destroyed the last Wraith and was now plowing through the barricades.

Grey spotted something else ahead of the tank.

"Damn, looks like the Covenant has set up mines. Nick, slow down!" but Nick couldn't hear Grey. He had fired the gun again and was shouting all manner of profanities.

Amad hovered by the cliff's edge, allowing Taylor and Grey inside. He quickly flew the Falcon downwards over the Scorpion. Grey gave a quick, two-finger salute to Taylor and jumped back down. He landed right back into the gunner's seat. "Nick. Nick! Listen to me, there's-" an explosion rocked the Scorpion, knocking one of the armor coverings over one of the huge treads of the tank.

"The hell was that!" Nick asked in a gruff and tough voice; he had hardly noticed the mine. Grey groaned before responding.

"Nothing just _keep_ going!" He yelled. All of a sudden and out of nowhere, two Ghosts appeared from their hiding spot in the rocks. "Ghosts!" Nick tried to turn the gun to fire on the small, agile craft but the Ghosts used their speed boots to zoom out of the way. They began firing, and two steady streams of plasma began battering the tank. Some plasma shots flew high, sizzling by Grey's head.

A Warthog pulled up near the Ghosts, which were side by side. Albert and Delilah jumped out of the Warthog and onto the Ghosts. They hijacked both Covenant vehicles, booting the grunts from the wheel.

"That was badass!" Nick exclaimed.

"We've got your back!" Delilah yelled over the comms.

Grey turned his attention to the final Covenant defensive line. This time the enemy was prepared for them. Three Wraiths were lined up, the Shades turrets were already firing and infantry was spilling out from behind the barricades. Many of the grunts in the crowd of Covenant were armed with ful rod guns and plasma launchers. Some of the Elites also carried concussion rifles.

"Anti-armor infantry heads up!"

"We'll take care of it." Albert said with concentration and determination evident in his voice. Along with Delilah, Albert charged the enemy troops with his speed boost.

The two Ghosts plowed through the infantry, knocking them all over the place. After they completed two passes through the severely diminished mob of Covenant, they turned around and began firing the main guns at the remainders.

Grey also started firing with his machine gun, but quickly stopped when he realized what was about to happen.

"Incoming! Get out of there!" but it was too late. The cloud of blue-white plasma landed in between Albert and Delilah's Ghosts. Albert's was sent cartwheeling towards the cliffs while Delilah's was sent spiraling through the air towards the water. Grey's heart stopped for a moment. But before he could frantically cry out their names, Albert's voice coughed over the comms.

"I'm alright. Delilah's, what's your status?" there was a splash of water on Delilah's end of the comms.

"I'm fine! Don't worry about us, finish them off."

As Ivan drove up in the Warthog to pick up the two Spartans, Nick readied the gun. He fired, taking down the Wraith on the left. He fired a second time. The shell hit he Wraith to the right, causing it to explode in a flurry of sparks and purplish-white flames.

"Alright, one more to go, take him down Nick!" Grey shouted. They were only a hundred yards away from the final Covenant line. But Nick didn't fire. He slowly pushed the Scorpion to full speed and charged the final line. He must have had some sort of mental connection with the Wraith's crew member, as it sped towards them using its speed boost. Grey said Nick's name once before the Scorpion's front collided with the purple hulk of the Wraith. Nick's plan to fire the gun point blank back fired, as the cannon bounced off the Wraith's gun, sending it to the right.

Grey leaped out of the gunner's seat and onto the front of the Wraith. He began slamming his fists down on the armor. It began to crumple under his strength and the number of blows. He reached in and grabbed the Elite by its neck, breaking its neck. As the Elite sputtered and died, Grey tossed it aside and began pounding on the Wraith again until it final broke down.

Stepping off of the ruined, burning machine, Grey pulled off a piece of metal that had been stuck to his knuckles. He wiped his hands together and walked away from the destroyed hulk as the friendly troopers arrived and cleared out the barricades.

As they finished and the troopers started celebrating and congratulating Grey on his tank kill, Nick hopped out of the Scorpion. His helmet's visor depolarized, revealing his face behind it.

"That, was badass." He stated. Grey grabbed Nick by his chest plate and lifted him off the ground.

"If you ever do anything like that again, I'll tear your arms right out of their sockets!" he snarled. Nick stared at Grey for a moment. Blue Team had gathered around and looked on with shocked faces.

Finally Nick burst into laughter and Grey joined in. He set his ODST friend back on the ground and patted the top of his helmet.

"Good job Blue Team." Albert started, patting Nick and Grey on the back. "There's nothing between us and the reactor except grassland."

"I guess we're home free then."

"Yes we are. We move out in one hour. Get something to eat and gather your things." Albert ordered. "

A little while later, a food stand had been set up at the Scorpion. The ODSTs who weren't at the reactor had also arrived and had brought with them a few more Warthogs and supplies. Most of the troops and Spartans were huddled around in small groups. Albert was with the officers and most of the NCO's, going over the plans. Taylor, Nick, Ivan and Amad were still waiting for their meals.

Grey and Delilah had already grabbed their meals and were sitting in Amad's Falcon. They were both silent.

Delilah knew Grey was going to say something about earlier. He had the same troubled look on his handsome face like did the night before.

"You have no idea how scared I was when you and Albert got hit…" before he could go on Delilah put an arm around him.

"I'm _fine, _Greyson." She said sternly.

"But you could've gotten killed!" Grey hissed. "You have to be more careful." Delilah frowned and crossed her arms.

"Well I could say the same thing about you." Grey raised his eyebrows. "What on earth possessed you to jump from a Falcon into AA fire? _You _could've gotten killed! You don't think I was scared too?" Grey sighed guiltily and looked down, clasping his hands together.

"I don't want anything to happen to you. I care about you too much. If anything happens to you…" Delilah reached over and took one of his hands.

"…I don't know what I would do." She finished for him. Grey gave her a small smile. "Don't worry Grey; we'll be out of here in a couple days." Grey nodded and pulled her into a hug. He wished they weren't wearing armor. The embrace ended and they were about to kiss when they heard someone cough.

"Ahem." Grey and Delilah quickly looked over to see Taylor, Nick, Amad and Ivan at the other end of the Falcon. Nick grinned. "Someone wants to take a holo-picture of us. C'mon." the four walked off. Grey growled but Delilah giggled and the two followed their friends.

Blue Team grouped together in front of the Scorpion. The photographer, who identified himself as a holo-journalist, thanked them and promised to have the picture to them by the time they were safely off planet.

Greys silently hoped that they would live long enough to get that picture.


	4. Chapter 3

_Chapter Three: Fog Walker _

_May 26, 2549 18:45 Hours_

_Yonik Grasslands _

It was a dreary day as the small task force continued to slowly make its way across the grasslands.

During the night, a thick fog had rolled over the land, covering most of Yonik. The mountains were high above the mist acting like a beacon of hope. It was difficult to travel, but Task Force 17 was forced to travel onwards through it.

The weather had declined too so the Falcons couldn't fly. A trailer had been hitched up to the Scorpion and the three Falcons were tied down.

There wasn't a whole lot of room in the few vehicles, so most of the troopers were piled on the Scorpion or the trailer the Falcons were strapped too. Some even filled the Falcons to allow more space on the trailer. Thankfully, everyone had been able to find a spot. Some of the Spartans had given up their seats and walked beside the convoy.

Blue Team was in a transport Warthog at the head of the convoy. Delilah was driving and Albert was talking on the comms in the passenger seat. Taylor and Ivan were sleeping next to each other. Grey was sitting between Amad and Nick. He was going over his weapon while Nick sat with a bored expression and Amad was sitting happily with a rifle.

Grey stopped working with his DMR and peeked over at Delilah. He soon became lost in his own thoughts as he stared at her.

"Whatcha lookin' at?" Nick asked teasingly. He already knew. Grey quickly looked forwards again. "How're things going with her?"

"Good. I mean, we worry about each other's safety constantly…especially now, but besides that everything's perfect." Grey looked back at Delilah then got closer to Nick and started to speak in a whisper. "I never thought it could happen. I mean, we're super soldiers, bred to kill. And yet…I found her and she found me. And I mean, I never thought were capable of these kind of emotions." Nick put an arm around Grey.

"Listen up, partner. You may wear a big suit of armor, have some weird blue gunk in your veins and can do some pretty amazing stuff…but you're still human." He poked Grey's chest plate. "You probably already know this, but you're in love, my man. No matter what people say, love is a thunder in our hearts that we all seek to share with someone else in this galaxy."

Nick slowly motioned with his arm to the cloudy sky for effect. Grey smirked and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. For someone who thought it was enjoyable to crush grunts with his boots, Nick could say things Grey would expect from an old wise man.

"That sure is a nice way of putting it. But I didn't think some like you would be able to say it." Nick snorted.

"I know about it cus' I have a family. I gotta wife an' three kids! Can you believe that?" Grey shook his head. Nick pulled out a holo-still of his family. A beautiful woman stood next to Nick. Two small children stood in front of them with toothy smiles and the third, smallest one was on Nick's shoulders. "This here is my wife, Teresa. These are my sons, Fredrick and Theodore and that's my daughter Katrina." He began telling Grey all about them.

Grey was focused more on Nick than the holo. The usual cocky look was gone and now replaced by one of care and thought. His eyes were filled with happiness as he went over the names and a soft smile had grown on his face. This indeed was a very rare sight. "Say, what're you gonna do after the war?" Nick asked.

Grey snapped from his thoughts and blinked a few times. It was a good question. He had no idea what was going to happen to him or any of the Spartans after the war. Would they be allowed to leave? Would they be forced to stay with the UNSC? Would the war even end?

"I don't know." Grey voiced his concern about what would happen to him.

"Ah, no worries my friend." Amad joined in. "I'm sure they'll give you the choice to leave. Now, what do you want to do?" Grey thought hard.

He remembered that when he went to Reach for the Sabre Program he volunteered for there were dozens upon dozens of farms dotting the countryside.

"Farming…"

"What?" both Nick and Amad blurted.

"I'd like to become a farmer. It's quiet, peaceful, honest, hard work. Having my own farm is kinda appealing." Nick and Amad looked at each other and burst out laughing. Grey crossed his arms and frowned. "What? You asked so I answered."

"No, there's nothing wrong with farming." Nick said in between chuckles. "But I mean _you, _farming? Pfft! That's something I would like to see."

"I think from now on I will call you the Grainstalk." Amad stated and Nick roared with laughter. Grey really didn't see any humor in it…at all.

"Yeah, and I'll call you nothing." Grey seethed.

"Aw…don't be like that!"

Their laughter was cut short as the Warthog grinded to a halt. They looked to the front and gazed at the sight. The fog had barely lifted, but they could see the picture strewn about before them.

Destroyed UNSC vehicles and aircraft littered the land in front of them. Some were burning, creating eerie orange glows in the distant fog. Other wreckage was all over the place. To make matters worse, bodies were everywhere. They had obviously been here for a while, as some were bloated and others had already started decaying.

The smell was horrible. The mix of rotting flesh and burning fuel filled Grey's nostrils. He grimaced and put his helmet on. Nick did the same as Amad and Ivan covered their faces with bandannas. Albert quickly assessed their situation.

"Alright, everyone be on alert. This could be a possible ambush sight. All Spartan teams, move to the head of the convoy; Yankee team take the left flank, Renegade take the right, Blue Team we have the front. Let's move through this area slowly." Blue Team hopped out, except for Nick who took the wheel.

Everyone quickly moved to their assigned positions and the convoy began rumbling forward again. Everything was silent excepting for the steady humming of the vehicles' engines. Grey was standing close to Delilah, who was loading her shotgun. They gave each other a nod.

Grey decided to reload his DMR since the clip was half empty. _Wish I didn't leave the sniper rifle in the Warthog…_

"My grandfather once told me that if I was bad, I would go to a place such as this." Amad said over the comms.

"I do not like this place. If given choice, I would rather live in reactor." Ivan joked. There were a few nervous chuckles over the comms.

"Noise discipline..." Albert growled.

"Yes, my Führer!" Nick joked. Grey watched as Albert slowly looked over his shoulder.

"Nick…_shut the fuck up_." There were a few snickers but Nick fell silent.

The convoy continued on. Grey passed a burning Warthog; blackened, scorched bodies were all over it. He was glad his helmet was on. As if on cue, the sound of someone vomiting caught his attention. He turned to see a trooper hunched over, spitting the remnants of his lunch into the ground.

Grey gave the trooper a reassuring pat on the back and kept moving. Someone murmured and pointed to a crashed Pelican. It was on its side, the bottom ripped out from under it. Almost twenty bodies were strewn around and within it. Blood stained the grass and the metal.

Grey stepped on something, and heard a familiar cracking noise. Looking down, he realized that he had stepped on a dead skirmisher's neck. Soon a few voices informed the others that there was a large amount of dead skirmishers mixed in with the UNSC graves. Everyone assumed that they were the dead from the Covenant's ambush on this battle group. Of course, they were wrong.

A trooper decided to fire a round into a dead skirmisher, a normal custom among the UNSC. To his shock, almost every one of the skirmishers that had been lying dead a moment ago, sprang to their feet and began firing.

The 'Ambush' cry went out but it was too late. Screams filled the air and troopers began to fall on the ground. Bullets whizzed by and plasma flew everywhere. Grey took down several skirmishers and took cover behind a wrecked Warthog. Ivan slid up next to him, reloading his weapon.

"I know these skirmishers!" he yelled over the noise. "They're a regiment of skilled ambushers called Zombies. They often play dead to get the best drop on us. I should've realized this."

"Who cares what they're called? Let's take'em out." Ivan nodded in agreement and tossed a frag grenade over their cover. He then disappeared into a group of skirmishers and troopers who were locked in hand-to-hand combat.

Grey ran forwards, using up the rest of the ammo in his clip on a few skirmishers that were charging him. Slamming another clip into his DMR, Grey quickly snapped off three headshots before dodging a charged plasma pistol round. The EMP blast hit the ground near Grey, and his shields went down halfway.

A skirmisher jumped on top of Grey, firing his plasma pistol as fast as it could. Grey grabbed the alien by its throat and dug his fingers into until blood started to seep over his fingers.

Grey tossed the skirmisher aside and fired a round into another one that was scampering by. Another jumped onto his back. Grey simply grabbed his pistol and fired over his shoulder. He felt the slight weight on his back slide off.

"Help me!" A voice cried. Grey turned to see a young trooper on his back trying to fight off a skirmisher. Grey sprinted over and kicked the skirmisher in its gut and then fired two shots into it. He grabbed the trooper and tossed him into cover.

Grey groaned as he felt a plasma overcharge round hit his back. The plasma burned through his shields and he felt it sizzle on its back. He turned and was ready to kill the skirmisher. But instead he saw Delilah driving her knife through its neck.

"Are you alright?" She called.

"I'm fine!" Grey fired a round past her to kill another skirmisher. "We have to fallback; I don't have a visual on the convoy." Delilah started to lead Grey back to the convoy. On their way back, Grey saw most of the skirmishers were dead for real and those that were alive were being finished off by the troopers. "Are we clear?"

"No, there are still some skirmishers out there. Some troopers are still unaccounted for too." Taylor informed them.

"I'll find'em." Delilah started loading fresh shells into the shotgun.

"No, you stay here and tend to the wounded." Delilah started to protest but Grey cut her off. "We need all the security on the convoy. I'm the fastest so I'll go. Where should I start looking?" Albert tapped his tacpad.

"The group of troopers said they saw four Elites moving to the northeast of the convoy about two hundred meters." Without a word, Grey immediately started sprinting to the marker on his HUD.

There was less wreckage and bodies this way, except for the occasional dead trooper or skirmisher. Grey could hear gunfire and yelling. And a minute later he slammed into a skirmisher, breaking it instantly.

Grey saw the location of the troopers on his motion tracker and went to their front.

"Head back to the convoy! I'll give you cover! Go, go, go!" the troopers took off running as Grey started firing into the skirmishers that were rushing at him. After they were dealt with, Grey started reloading when a gray armored Elite slammed into him.

He stumbled back, dropping his DMR. The Elite fired its plasma repeater and Grey rolled out of the way. The alien growled in anger as the repeater overheated. Grey took the opportunity and charged the Elite. He tackled it and they both fell to the ground.

Grey raised his fist to hit the Elite but it grabbed his wrist and kicked him off. Grey slid into the ground a few feet and the Elite drew its energy sword. It swung at him and Grey again rolled out of the way, scrambling to his feet. But the Elite was fast and slashed his sword against Grey's back. His shields took the brunt of the damage but he felt the tips gouge into his back. He let out a cry of pain and fell to his knee.

Reaching for his pistol, Grey turned to fire at the Elite. The Elite smacked the weapon from his hand. But before the alien could finish Grey, a hail of buckshot hit it. The Elite's shields flared as Delilah roared and smashed the Elite with the butt of the shotgun.

During the frenzy, Delilah lost her shotgun but the Elite still had a firm grip on its energy sword. Delilah swung her first at it but the Elite grabbed her wrist and slashed upwards with the energy sword. Delilah fell back, her shields depleted and pieces of her armor fell off from the hit.

She fell down, groaning in pain. Delilah attempted to pick herself up but she failed and fell back down. The Elite, thinking it had won, walked towards her.

"Stay away from her!" Grey cried and jumped onto the Elite's back, jamming his knife into its back repeatedly. The Elite roared in fury and threw Grey off his back.

Grey landed on his hands and feet like a cat and raised himself to a crouch, holding his knife out in front of him. The Elite had lost its sword and it was right in front of Grey. It curled its hands into fists and an energy blade on either wrist appeared.

The Elite charged Grey and jabbed at him with the wrist blades. Grey sidestepped out of the way and slashed the Elite with his knife. The Elite grabbed its side, stunned for a moment. Grey took the opportunity. He grabbed the right arm and slashed at its wrist. After a few hits the device that produced the wrist blade popped off. Grey took the device and strapped it to his right wrist. He made a fist and the blade appeared.

Grey got into a fighting stance, waiting for the Elite to strike. Instead, the Elite turned and started to run.

Two Elites were crouched behind a large rock formation. They looked on at the fog where their brother had run into the fray to help the skirmishers. They could hear shouting and the sound of their brother in a fight.

There was no sign of him until he started running out of the fog. But just as he was in view, a burst of gunfire ripped into his legs. The two Elites watched in horror as their brother dropped down.

"We have to help him!" one whispered and stood up.

"No, get down!" the other hissed, pulling him back behind the rocks.

Their brother started to crawl towards them. But something else caught their attention. A shadowy figure in the shape of a human was slowly making its way to their brother. Their eyes widened as one of the UNSC demons appeared. They were surprised to see an energy dagger deployed on his wrist.

The two brothers wanted to look away but they couldn't. Their brother rolled onto his back, raising its hands up to the demon. The demon stood over the Elite for a moment, staring down at it. He bent over and said something to him. Then the demon started stabbing their brother with the wrist blade multiple times until their brother's chest was obliterated.

The demon stood over his kill for another moment before turning and slowly disappearing back into the fog.

"Why did you hold us back!" the first Elite growled.

"Our brother was the strongest and the most skilled out of the three of us. If he was defeated by that demon, that it means it has skill that greatly surpasses our own." He looked back towards their deceased brother. "This is now ordinary demon…"

Grey dropped down to his knees next to Delilah.

"Delilah?" he whispered. He reached down and placed a hand on her armor. He shook her a little and there was no response. "Delilah…" Grey reached over and pulled off her helmet. It revealed Delilah with a smirk on her face staring up at Grey.

"Boo…"

Grey was too relieved to be angry. He threw off his helmet and brought Delilah into a hug. Delilah tucked her head under his chin.

"I thought you…"

"Well I didn't. I'm fine Grey." She pulled back a little and kissed him. "Honestly, you worry too much." Grey smiled and rubbed her cheek before helping Delilah to her feet. "Let's head back now." The two Spartans put on their helmets and collected their weapons.

At the convoy, Grey was greeted by the troopers he had rescued. They crowded around him, patting his back and laughing.

"Thanks for saving us!"

"Yeah, we woulda been toast if you hadn't shown up."

"You deserve a medal."

"I don't think that's necessary. Just knowing that you're safe and your appreciation is reward enough." The troopers laughed and continued to congratulate him until Albert shooed them away. The task force climbed back into their vehicles and the convoy continued on.


	5. Chapter 4

_Chapter Four: First Landing _

_May 27, 2549 11:00 Hours_

_First Landing Mountain _

The convoy had finally reached the top of First Landing Mountain. The top was completely flat and a single smooth, stone slab stood vertically in the center.

Heavy winds twirled around the mountain top and the temperature had declined dramatically. The convoy had stopped to refuel and most of the troopers, wearing summer armor, were huddled in tight groups around small fires. They bounced from foot to foot, rubbing their arms for warmth.

Nick breathed shakily as he pulled his helmet back on.

"I hate this place…" he muttered. "We were supposed to fly away on a frigate; nobody said anything about freezing my ass off on top of some stupid-ass mountain." Ivan glared at his friend.

"This is a monument to the people who discovered this planet, fool." Ivan crossed his arms and leaned back. He was wearing less armor and clothing than Nick was but he didn't feel the cold. His black hair fluttered in the breeze as he stared at the monument. "When the first colonists planted their feet on this mountain, they were attacked by the feral wildlife that dwelled here. Hundreds were slaughtered. Now, they are all buried here; we stand upon their graves." Ivan closed his eyes and raised his hands, murmuring a prayer.

Nick grimaced and looked down at the ground he was sitting on. He didn't want to think about the amount of skeletons that were probably mere inches under him. "You should be more respectful, Nick."

Nick frowned as his helmet's visor polarized. His attention turned to the monument where Grey and Albert were inspecting it.

"Here stands the marker to the two hundred-fifty people who lost their lives when they first came to claim Piltran in the name of the UNSC and Humanity…may they never be forgotten." Albert lowered his hand from the writing that was carved into the stone. "I didn't realize colonization was taken this seriously." Albert expected a response from Grey but didn't get one. He turned and watched as Grey turned his wrist around, observing the energy wrist blade. Grey uncurled his hand and then clicked a button on the back of the device that produced the blade. "So, have you got that thing figured out?"

"There's a small button on the back here." Grey clicked it, but the energy blade didn't appear. "It won't appear if I'm holding something in my hand or if my hand is open. But when I make a fist…" Grey did so, and the sizzling energy blade appeared. "Imagine if I had two, like one on either wrist." Albert snorted and shook his head.

"Keep the use to a minimum; if certain officers see that they're going to confiscate it…or you might poke your eye out." Grey mumbled something under his helmet but deactivated the device. As Albert went to check in with the other officers, Grey looked around for Delilah.

Delilah held the Warthog up with one hand while Taylor bolted in the new tire. When he was finished, Taylor packed up the tools and kicked the other tire off of the mountain top.

"How's your armor doing?" Taylor asked.

"Despite the gash it's still working fine. My shields still work and there was no damage to the skin suit." Delilah shrugged as she took a sip of coffee that Amad had kindly brewed earlier. Taylor looked over his shoulder and spotted Grey, who was going from group to group, obviously looking for Delilah.

"You and Grey…" Taylor murmured. Along with Grey and Delilah, they had been a team during their training on Onyx. They were all close friends. But he had never figured out how and when they had actually decided to enter a romantic relationship. "How did you and Grey get into a relationship?"

Delilah stopped her movements and smiled slowly as she remembered.

"I told Grey to meet me down by Twin Forks River one night…"

_It was Grey's birthday that day. He had just turned sixteen. Needless to say, no one had really cared except for Taylor and Delilah. His mind kept racing; why had Delilah invited him to sneak out of camp. It was easy enough for them to slip out but a reason would have been nice rather than 'meet me by Twin Forks River at eleven-hundred hours tonight, kay?' _

_ Grey pushed his way through a bush and started walking into the sand that rested on the banks of Twin Forks River. The moon was shining so brightly that he could see almost everything clearly. _

_ Taking off his boots and socks, Grey wiggled his toes in the sand. But before he could stick his feet into the water he heard someone running at him. Grey let out a loud '_oof!' _as Delilah tackled him, giggling wildly. _

_ "You actually came!" she whispered excitedly. There was a beautiful smile on her face that caught Grey off guard for a moment. _

_ "Well yeah! Of course I came. What made you think I wasn't?" Delilah blushed. _

_ "Well, just that feeling…"_

_ "Delilah, I'm your friend. I'd never leave you hanging like that." _

_Delilah nodded with uncertainty plastered on her face. She got off of Grey and the pair stood up. They turned their attention to the night sky and looked out the shining moon. Grey felt some kind of strange tension between them as Delilah stared up at the stars. He cleared his throat nervously. _

"_That's what I wanted to talk to you about Grey." Delilah said seriously. Grey raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You and I…we've been close friends since we came to Camp Currahee. And over the years…I find myself thinking more and more…" she turned and faced Grey. "I don't want to be friends anymore." Grey was confused. _

"_Why? Did I do something wrong? If I did I didn't mean to…" Delilah grabbed his hand and pulled him a little closer. _

"_No, I didn't mean it like that. I mean…" Grey's mouth dropped a little when he saw Delilah blush. It made her look even prettier with her freckled face and the moonbeams shining on her skin. "I like you Grey…" Grey snorted and smiled. _

"_Well, we couldn't be friends if you didn't like me." Delilah groaned. _

"_You know, you may be the best Spartan of Beta Company but sometimes you are just so thick when it comes to natural human emotions." Grey tried to find the proper response but decided it was probably better to remain silent. "I mean I like you…I really like you. Like, more than a friend." Grey's mind tossed the phrase around in his head for a moment. The Spartan part of his brain was beaten back by the human part. _

"_Oh." Delilah frowned. She started to yell at him in a heated whisper. _

"_Oh? Oh! That's all you have to say!" Grey raised his hands and placed them on her shoulders. _

"_No, no, no. I'm just…surprised." Grey smiled sweetly. "No one's ever told me something like that." Delilah started to smile. "And…and I guess…I feel the same way." Delilah's smiled widened and she withheld a squeal. She threw arms around Grey and squeezed him tightly. Grey laughed and hugged back. _

"_That's great!" Delilah exclaimed. "But we can't let any of the instructors find out. Or else they'll split us apart and throw us in the brig." _

"_It'll be hard." Grey rubbed his chin, pretending to be deep in thought. "But I think we'll manage." The two stared at each for a while, smiling the entire time. Grey nervously ran one of his feet through the sand. "So…what do we do now?" Delilah was still lost in thought as she gazed at him. _

"_I dunno…maybe we should kiss or something." Grey blushed furiously and his eyes darted away. Delilah giggled, taking pleasure in the fact she was the only who could make Grey react in such away. "C'mon, it can't be that hard." _

_Delilah pressed up against Grey, looking up at him. Grey's hands found their way to her hips and Delilah's snaked up around his neck. The next moment their lips met awkwardly and they shyly parted from each other a moment after. _

_ Grey scratched the back of his head nervously with a bright blush on his cheeks. Delilah was holding her hands in front of her, shyly turned away from Grey. _

_ "Well, that was…" Delilah flung her arms around Grey and kissed him again. Grey fell back into the sand, holding onto Delilah as he returned her kisses. _

_ After about several heated minutes, they stopped to take a breath. Delilah was still smiling and Grey chuckled. They both wanted to say something to each other, but they had so many thoughts racing through their heads they couldn't speak. Soon after, they drifted into sleep..._

"And we caught hell tomorrow…" Delilah said. Taylor was listening with fascination.

"What happened?"

"Well, instead of being beaten in front of the entire company, Lieutenant Commander Ambrose and CPO Mendez decided to take us to the Commandant's Office." Delilah finished her coffee and put the cup back into the Warthog. "Mendez shouted at us for a while before Ambrose took over."

"What did Ambrose say?"

"He sent Mendez out for a moment and started discussing the relationship between me and Grey. And Ambrose…he allowed it." Delilah looked at Taylor in disbelief. "I couldn't believe it. He said that if we didn't sneak out at night, kept it on the down-low and if it didn't get in the way of our training, he'd allow it. I can't believe it…" Delilah shook her head.

"Did he ever tell you why?"

"No…but I think he might've told Grey. After he told us it was okay, he sent me out but kept Grey for a little while longer. Grey still won't tell me what happened though." Delilah's gaze drifted elsewhere and Taylor followed it. She was staring intently at Grey as he started making his way over to them.

"Well, that's just Grey being Grey. Nothing can change him."

"I don't want to change him." Delilah said with slight irritation. "I love him the way he is. I _never _want him to change." Taylor nodded and stood up to find some more work to occupy him. _Quite the story..._

Grey was about to greet Delilah but there was shouting over by the Falcons.

"Grainstalk!" Amad yelled. "We require your assistance." Grey groaned, looking between Delilah and Amad. Delilah giggled and nodded at Amad. With a huff, Grey trotted over to Amad who was standing with the other Falcon pilots.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"We were taking one of the Falcon's off of the flatbed, but it slipped and landed on our tool box. Can you use your impressive strength to lift the Falcon so we can retrieve our tools?" Grey hated when Amad spoke like that.

"You coulda just asked me to lift the Falcon with a please." Grey said, putting on his helmet. He went over to the Falcon which sat upon the tool box and gripped the bottom of it. With a grunt of effort, Grey lifted the helicopter off of the box. One of the pilots quickly swiped the box away and Grey set it back down.

"Praise be to you! You have the strength of a-."

"You're welcome." Grey muttered and started walking away.

When he was halfway to Delilah's Warthog, Grey stopped. There was a strange, familiar sound in the air. The distant battle at the nearby reactor echoed at the bottom of the other side of the mountain. But that wasn't the noise.

Out of the clouds a swarm of Banshees appeared.

"Banshees!" someone screamed. Troopers ran all around trying to find cover. One Banshee fired its fuel rod gun at the parked Falcons. Grey turned and saw that one crew was already starting their Falcon. He started sprinting towards them, yelling at them to get out.

The fuel rod blast hit the side of the Falcon. The force of the impact caused the Falcon to roll over several times until it started to tumble down the side of the mountain. Grey skidded to a stop at the edge and watched in horror as the occupants of the Falcon flew out and pieces of the helicopter broke off. Before it disappeared from sight, the Falcon exploded.

"They're gone, take cover!" Amad cried, tugging at Grey's arm. Grey hadn't even noticed that Amad was there. He picked up the pilot under his arm and started sprinting back to the Warthog.

Banshees flew back and forth, peppering the task force with plasma. Some of the troopers began to fight back with the Warthogs' chain guns. Taylor was able to take down several Banshees with his rocket launcher and Ivan had obtained a spartan laser.

Grey slid into cover and dropped Amad behind the tire. Albert crouched next to him.

"Grey, we've got an overwhelming amount of Covenant coming up the path we just used to get up here. I'm ordering all Spartan Teams to move down the trail to hold them off. Taylor and I are going to take the troopers and ODSTs in the vehicles to the reactor. You have to give us at least twenty minutes to get down the mountain. When you're all clear, take the Falcons and get to the reactor." Albert put on his helmet and pressed his finger against Grey's chest. "You're in charge Greyson, don't let me down!"

"You can count on me, sir." Albert nodded and rallied the troopers.

The rest of the Spartans grouped around Grey. Grey explained their objective. "Our best bet is to meet them on the trail. We'll take up positions along the sides and wipe out their point men. Then we'll move down the trail and take us many down."

"Yes sir!"

"Get moving!" the Spartans started to file out and Grey cast one final look to the departing convoy. Nick and Amad were still on the mountain, going over with a small squad of troopers to protect the parked Falcons. Ivan stood on the Warthog as it drove off, holding his fist in the air.

_"Good luck my friend!" _he yelled over the comms. Grey pumped his fist into the air before running after the other Spartans.

The trail was somewhat wide, at least fifty feet. It was a mixture of scorched earth and grass trying to sprout through the soil. Piles of jagged rocks lined either side, making it impossible to stray off the trail.

The Spartans had moved halfway down the trail at a sprint, and were now nestled in the rocks waiting for their prey to stumble into their trap.

Grey had his sniper rifle on his back and his DMR poised in front of him. He felt calm and ready, breathing steadily. Delilah was right next to him, but she didn't seem as ready.

"Delilah…" Grey whispered over a private comm channel. "Are you alright?"

"I dunno Grey…I just have that gnawing feeling again." She answered uneasily.

"Delilah, we're gonna be fine, just like we've always been." Delilah nodded and Grey killed the comm link. He went to the open comm channel like before.

A red dot appeared on his motion tracker. Then another, and another, and what seemed like several hundred other dots entered the tracker. There were so many there was just one giant bundle of red on Grey's motion tracker.

A squad of jackals and grunts led the way. Grey had made sure that he was the last one along the line of hidden Spartans. Now it was time. "Open fire!" flashes of gunfire appeared among the rocks and the Covenant enemies dropped instantly. The first fifty hostiles were cut down in the ensuing ambush. "Move in!"

The Spartans leapt from their hiding places and started advancing back down the mountain. The only Covenant present was jackals and grunts. The jackals tried to hold firm, creating a phalanx of plasma shields and firing with plasma pistols and needlers. The grunts however were just trying to escape.

Despite their shields, the jackals were also pushed back down the path. The Spartans darted from boulder to boulder and rocks piles, firing as they did. Grey had lost sight of Delilah, but could hear the telltale sign of her shotgun at the front of the Spartan line.

Grey and several other Spartans lobbed frag grenades down the path. The grenades exploded. Shrapnel ripped through alien flesh and bodies were sent rolling down the trail or flying through the air.

The plan seemed to be working. They were making good progress down the path, leaving behind mounds of dead aliens.

"Is that it?"

"This was too easy."

"I almost feel sorry for'em."

"Don't get cocky now; motion tracker's still alive with red." Grey reminded them. But as soon as he finished speaking, the red disappeared from the motion tracker. "Everyone, take cover!" he hissed. The Spartans crawled back into cover along the rocks.

All was silent for a moment.

"Either we killed them all or they all stopped moving." someone whispered. Grey narrowed his eyes, staring ahead instead of watching the motion tracker. Some of the fog from the mainland had rolled its way up the mountainside and he couldn't see through the mist.

After ten minutes, the fog suddenly started to clear. Its departure revealed a horde of Elites. Most of them held plasma repeaters and had energy swords strapped to their thighs.

"They know we're here and they're ready for a fight. Stay in cover and…" Grey heard a strange noise in the air. It wasn't Banshees.

_"Blue Three this is Blue One!" _Albert shouted frantically over the comms. _"The frigate coming to pick us up has done some orbital scans and spotted a Covenant super-turret at the base of the mountain. It's fully charged and ready to fire on your position, get the hell outta there!" _

Grey shouted for the Spartans to run back up the mountain. But it was too late and he heard the massive explosive sound of the plasma turret firing. A moment later, a brilliant white light blinded him. Rocks, earth and other debris filled the air.

Grey had taken cover with Delilah behind a boulder with Renegade Team just in time. But Yankee Team had been obliterated in the blast.

"We need to head back towards the top of the mountain. Those Elites are going to chew us up here." Grey, Delilah and the remaining Spartans ran back up the mountain.

The plasma turret's round had hit somewhat higher up the mountain, between the top and Grey's position. The lines of rocks and boulders that had sat peacefully on their way down had been knocked away. The upper part of the mountainside was now bare and the soil burnt. A giant column of brown colored smoke now rose from the impact zone.

The Elites wasted no time rushing up the hill. Just as Grey and the other Spartans got into position and turned to fire on them, the Elites were almost at the top.

Grey open fired with his sniper rifle, scoring headshot after headshot. The Elites would come at them in waves of fifteen or twenty. Each time, they would come close to the Spartans at top of the trail but each time they never reached them.

That ended after the fourth wave. All of the Elites decided to surge forward. Grey and the other Spartans backed up.

Grey looked over to see Nick, Amad and the troopers ready to join the fight. "You men stay over there. Get on the chain guns and get those choppers ready to fly!" he ordered.

Grey turned and fired his final sniper rifle round into a charging Elite. Dropping the now useless rifle, Grey switched back to his DMR. He started firing at the closest Elites.

They Elites were starting to gang up on Spartans. One by one, they began to fall. Hand to hand combat and close quarters weapons use began. Grey dropped his DMR and activated his wrist blade and started slashing at every Elite he could find.

He went back to back with Delilah, who was firing two assault rifles. They were the only Spartans left now.

_"Grey, we're at the reactor. Get to the Falcons and get out of there, now!" _

"Delilah, it's time to go. Run for it!" They started sprinting towards the Falcons. "Nick, Amad, open fire with the chain guns. Bullets flew past them and into the mob of Elites that were chasing them.

Grey was almost at the Falcons when he heard Delilah scream. He turned to see her fall with smoke rising from her back. The Elites in front crowded around her while the rest continued to charge forward. "Delilah!" Grey cried and charged at the Elites.

He pushed his way through the Elites, pushing them away or quickly stabbing them with the wrist blade. "Delilah!" He could see her foot in the midst of the Elites. Energy sword tips went through his shields and seared Grey's flesh. He didn't feel it.

Grey reached Delilah and went to grab her. "Delilah…"

"Grey." Delilah choked out. All of a sudden, Grey's shields went all the way down and a large Elite kicked Grey with all of its might. Grey was sent flying off of the mountain top, screaming Delilah's name. The last thing he heard was Delilah calling his name after him.

Nick and Amad started firing into the crowd with the chain guns. The bullets start tearing the alien horde apart. The other troopers threw frag grenades at the edge of the Elites . After five minutes, the last Elite finally dropped down dead.

"Oh my god…" Nick murmured. He pulled off his helmet and started running through the sea of bodies. "Grey! Delilah!"

He repeated their names several times before hearing a cough.

"Nick…" Delilah murmured. Nick looked around quickly and spotted Delilah's armor among the bodies. He rushed over and pushed an Elite off of Delilah. Nick froze, looking at the energy sword wounds all over Delilah. He bent over slowly and removed her helmet.

"I'm…I'm here Delilah." He said shakily.

"I'm not gonna make it, Nick…"

"Don't say that. You're going to be fine." Nick assured her. Delilah reached up and took Nick's hand.

"We both know you're lying, Nick." Nick closed his eyes for a moment. "Nick…I'm going to tell you something…and I want you to tell Grey when you're off of this planet. Promise me you'll tell him."

"I promise…"

Grey groaned and picked himself up. He was halfway down the mountain. It took Grey a few moments to gather his thoughts. _Delilah…_ Grey started sprinting up the path. He ignored the carnage and the pain in his leg. All that mattered was Delilah.

Grey stopped at the top of the mountain. All of the Elites were dead. He looked around quickly and saw Nick kneeling over something. Grey threw his helmet off, ran over and slid in next to Nick. Delilah was on the ground, looking up at him.

"No…no!" Grey cried and held Delilah in his arms. Tears started to run down his cheeks. "No…this can't be happening." He buried his face against Delilah's. "Oh my god I'm so sorry Delilah…I'm so sorry I couldn't save you!" Delilah rested her hand on Grey's cheek. "Nick!" Grey looked up at the ODST. "What I do! I don't know what to do! How can I…how can I…" Nick looked away, unable to watch.

Delilah had no strength left, not even enough to speak. Grey's tears fell upon her cheeks and they stared at each other for a moment. Delilah's eyelids began to close. "Please don't go Delilah…I…I…" Delilah smiled and pulled Grey down so their lips met one final time.

When Grey withdrew, Delilah was gone.

Grey cradled her body against him, sobbing against her neck. Amad jogged up beside Nick and immediately looked away. Nick covered his eyes, trying to conceal his own tears. When he gathered himself, Nick got down next to Grey and put an arm around him.

Grey looked at Nick with unbearable pain in his eyes. Tears continued to slide down his cheeks.

Nothing could be said.

Nick wanted to tell him what Delilah had told him, but he had promised her to wait for the ship.

"Grey…" Nick finally managed. Grey wiped his eyes and looked down at Delilah.

"Get the Falcons ready to go." Nick turned and nodded at Amad and the two went back to the Falcons. Amad and the other pilot hopped into the cockpits while Nick and the other troopers piled in.

Grey picked up Delilah and walked over to the monument of First Landing Mountain. He rested her in front of the slab, her head just at the bottom. He rested her arms on her chest and made sure her body was straight. Grey went back over and set her helmet beside her.

He stared at his love for another moment which seemed like an eternity to him. A part of Grey had now departed along with Delilah.

Grey collected Delilah's tags, retrieved his helmet and got into the Falcon beside Nick. Just like the colonists who had perished there, Delilah would not be forgotten. Grey kissed her tags and closed his eyes.


	6. Chapter 5

So how about that last chapter? Pretty sad I suppose. Anyways, I guess I should say that I'm going to update this story whenever I feel like it. Hopefully, it'll be relatively frequent. I should also mention that chapters will have some major size differences, especially when I get to the actual Halo Reach campaign missions. Those'll probably be pretty lengthy.

Honestly, I don't really like this chapter. It's just a step above filler and I don't like writing filler. All the same, I hope you enjoy it.

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><p><em>Chapter Five: Regret <em>

_May 27, 2549 14:50 Hours _

_Yonik Nuclear Reactor _

The reactor was nestled within a small valley surrounded by high ridges and rocks on all sides besides the front. The reactor was a tall, dark looking building with two huge smoke stacks connected to either side of the building. A large pool of green water was nearby and a long pipeline ran from the back of the building into the ground. The other buildings were dwarfed by the size of the reactor.

The troopers and ODSTs were now setting up positions around the reactor, carefully setting up Warthogs and the Scorpion in key locations. There was only one road that could be followed to get to the reactor. Engineers were covering this road with mines.

Grey stood like a statue, unmoving and silent. He watched as the troopers went about their work, their spirits obviously weakened by the loss of the other Spartans. The Covenant corvette that they were going to hit was already in sight and slowly drifting its way over to the reactor. Grey wished they would hurry up. _I wanna kill them all…_

"Grey…" Nick whispered from the parked Falcon. Grey didn't acknowledge him. Nick looked at Amad who shook his head.

"Grey!" Albert jogged over. "Grey, outstanding work! Where's…" Albert stopped when he saw Nick's and Amad's faces. The reality hit him. "All of them…" Grey nodded. "And Delilah?" Grey's head lowered.

Albert walked over to Grey and took off his helmet. He looked into Grey's tear stained eyes. Albert removed his own helmet and wrapped an arm around Grey's neck and pulled him against his head. Grey began to sob again, dropping his weapon and pulling Albert close.

"I lost her…I lost her…" Grey kept sobbing. Albert rubbed the back of Grey's head, closing his eyes as the pain tore at him. "I failed her. I failed everyone…" after another five minutes of crying, Grey withdrew and wiped his eyes. "I'm sorry…I let you down."

"None of this is your fault, Grey." Albert put his hands on his shoulders. "And you didn't let me down; you are still alive." Grey blinked away more tears and nodded. Albert put their helmets back on and reluctantly left to check on Taylor.

Ivan was with some other troopers and they were watching from the other side of the Falcon. He quickly sent a prayer out for those who weren't with them. Nick scooted over to him.

"I can't believe they're gone…just like that."

"I didn't think Spartans could cry." Nick glared at the trooper who had spoken.

"They're still human, you idiot. Just because they wear a big suit of armor doesn't mean their devoid of emotions." The trooper raised his hands up in defense before walking off. The other troopers left as well, leaving Ivan and Nick alone. "All the same…" Nick ran a hand over his face. "I didn't think Spartans could cry either."

"I didn't think Grey could cry…" Ivan murmured. "This life will definitely be a lesser one without Delilah." Nick nodded in agreement.

Albert walked solemnly over to Taylor, who was at a terminal. He was close to bringing the AA guns back online.

"How are they?" he asked. When Albert didn't answer, Taylor looked over at his leader. Albert was sitting on a crate, helmet off and his hand on his forehead. He was leaning forward and shaking his head. "Major?"

"Yankee and Renegade Teams are KIA." Albert said quiet. Taylor squeezed his eyes shut; he could see every face of the two teams in his memory.

"What about Grey and Delilah?" Albert didn't speak for a moment. Taylor's heart began to race. "What about Grey, and Delilah?" he asked again, forcefully.

"Delilah didn't make it." Albert ran both his hands down his face. Taylor couldn't speak. Albert left the shed, leaving Taylor to finish his job. He couldn't grasp it. She was gone, just like that. He had just seen her a few hours ago. They had been talking. They had been working together. Now his friend was gone, just like that? Taylor could only imagine Grey's pain.

An hour passed. It was quiet. Amad had finally been able to sit Grey down in the Falcon and eat his rations. Grey slowly nibbled at the contents of the ration and sipped his coffee.

Amad was eating his own ration and kept peeking at Grey out of the corner of his eye. Grey's head was lowered and Amad could tell he was deep in thought.

"You know what I just realized…" Grey said suddenly, making Amad jump. But he inquired anyways. Grey turned, his eyes shimmering with tears. "I never once told Delilah how much I loved her. I never uttered those three words in all of the time I spent with her." Sadness left his eyes and it was replaced by anger.

The pain was unbearable. Delilah was gone and there was nothing Grey could do about it. He felt so helpless. Grey balled his hands into fists and held his head. He just wanted to rip something apart.

"God damn it!" Grey screamed and kicked a nearby crate so hard it flew over a ridge and out of sight. Amad backed up a little as Grey continued to curse and smash crates. Troopers pointed and gave Grey a wide birth.

Albert and Taylor ran out and grabbed onto Grey.

"Calm down!"

"You're gonna tear this place apart!" they wrestled Grey down onto his knees and let him writhe for a few moments. Grey fell still and Albert let him sit up after a few moments. "Grey, I know nothing can describe your anger right now and that there's nothing we can say to make it better. But there's nothing we can do for Delilah now." Grey stared ahead. "If anything, Delilah wants you to keep going. That's what she would have wanted."

"I've got the guns back online. Now all we have to do is get the Covenant over here so we can tear that corvette a new one." Taylor added.

"Are you ready to dish out some payback?" Albert asked, handing Grey an assault rifle. Grey nodded and put his helmet on.

To Grey, the Covenant assault didn't start soon enough. After a few more hours of waiting, the Covenant at the bottom of First Landing Mountain had regrouped and traversed the mountain. _If they did anything to Delilah's body…_ Grey cleared his mind.

The Covenant spilled down the road and onto the landmines. They exploded, sending huge columns of fire into the air. Nick had taken control of the Scorpion and was firing on the vehicles that accompanied the Covenant infantry. Amad and the other Falcon pilot buzzed around, spewing high caliber rounds into the Covenant.

The troopers were set up in several defensive lines and so far the first was the only one being engaged. Albert was at the first line, coordinating the ODSTs that occupied it. Taylor was back at the terminal that controlled the guns; he was waiting for the corvette to reach them.

Ivan was crouched beside Grey and Grey was tasked with keeping him safe. They watched the firefight from the second line.

Soon enough, the first line started to be whittled down. Albert ordered a retreat. Along with a few vehicles and the ODSTs, they reached the second line.

_"Major, how close is the corvette?" _Taylor asked over the comms. Albert looked to the sky to the corvette almost in position.

"It's close Taylor. Keep your trigger finger itchy, over."

Grey unloaded a clip into the charging Covenant and stopped down to reload.

"Plasma grenade incoming!" the pulsating blue explosive stuck to Ivan's helmet. Ivan took off his helmet and with a grunt of effort he threw it back at the Covenant. It exploded within a group of jackals and it blew them apart.

_"Bad…ass…" _

"Nick, cut the chatter!" Albert ordered as he beat down an Elite. Another Elite jumped down into their makeshift trench. Grey jabbed him in the chest with the wrist blade and pushed the body away.

"Major, I don't think we can hold out for much longer!" Grey yelled.

"We must!" Albert snarled. He punched an Elite before jumping onto its back to snap its neck.

Banshees flew over the airspace. Troopers ducked down as plasma riddled the trench line.

_"Major, we don't have any heavy weaponry to take down the Banshees, what do we do!" _a trooper cried frantically over the comms. Albert looked at Grey who shrugged as he reloaded. Amad's voice suddenly filled the comms.

"_Major let me join my ground-bound brothers; I will show them how to defeat the Banshees." _

"No Amad, we need you up in the air." Albert pointed behind Grey. Grey turned and smashed his assault rifle across an Elite's jaw. He finished it off with his energy blade. He picked up a nearby shotgun and started moving down the trench, killing jackals the entire way.

"Major, this trench is getting overrun!" Ivan yelled.

_"Enough! I fight on ground, where men are meant to fight." _Grey saw Amad land his Falcon and storm out with a shotgun. He jumped on top of an Elite and blasted its head off. He hopped off within a group of troopers. "I will fight with you now!" Amad started instructing the troopers to fire their weapons together at one Banshee at a time as they swooped in to deliver its ordinance.

"Shit!" Albert swore. "Taylor, get out of the shed and take Amad's Falcon back into the air. I'll take over the AA guns." Albert clambered out of the trench and sprinted to the shed. Taylor ran by him and jumped into the Falcon.

"Have a safe flight!" Grey called. Taylor gave a two finger salute before taking off. "Ivan, head back to the shed with Albert. Amad, you're with me. Nick, roll that Scorpion back towards the shed!"

Grey led Amad and a large group of ODSTs and troopers out of the trench and back to the third line which was about two hundred feet away from the shed Albert and Ivan had entered.

_"Grey, is that corvette overhead yet?" _Grey looked pasted the air battle between the two Falcons and the Banshees at the corvette. He could see the corvette's ground attack weaponry start charging.

"Yes sir, it's in range!" a moment later, every single AA gun fired a barrage of missiles into the air. But just as the missiles soared up towards it, the corvette fired its guns down towards the defensive lines. "Take cover!" Grey cried and everyone got down in the trench.

The whole world seemed to shake as the huge plasma rounds hit all around. Packs of troopers and ODSTs were killed and tossed around like ragdolls. Even some of the Covenant infantry fell victim to the heavy fire.

Grey heard several loud explosions above him and thought the corvette had been hit. But when he stood up to look, he instead saw the two Falcons explode. "No!" Amad cried as he watched the burning Falcons cascade back to the ground. The roasting hulks finally hit, leaving long scars in the ground until they came to a stop.

"Taylor!" Grey and Amad climbed out of the trench with several troopers and ran to the crashed Falcons. When they reached it, they tried to look into the cockpit. Grey turned it over, groaning as he did.

Part of Grey wished he didn't.

The cockpit had been crushed and Taylor's lifeless body looked more like a piece of twisted metal. Blood leaked from cracks in his armor. There was a small, round hole in his visor. Dark blood dripped out of it.

"Son of a bitch!" Amad swore, throwing his pilot helmet on the ground. "When will it end!" Grey would have let more tears fall, but he had none left. He reached in and yanked Taylor's tags from his neck. _Goodbye, my friend. Keep Delilah safe if you can find her..._

As the Covenant retreated back up First Landing Mountain, Grey and Amad turned their attention to the corvette. There was a huge hole torn into its side and was now ablaze in a white hot fire. The corvette was listening to one side as it slowly limped away.

Albert and Ivan slowly approached the wreckage of Taylor's Falcon. Ivan got down on his knees and started to pray again. Nick joined them, his saddened complexion hidden behind his polarized visor.

"I radioed the frigate…" Albert murmured. "I told them the airspace is clear so they can come in for a pick up. They'll be sending down Pelicans when they're in position. It's time to get the hell off this planet."

"Yes sir…" Grey muttered, staring at the mangled heap that was his friend. The group started to disperse but Grey stayed.

"Greyson…" he turned and looked at Albert. His helmet was off and he stared back at Grey with lifeless eyes. "You apologized to me earlier for letting me down. I should apologize to you."

"Why, sir?"

"Because I've let you down…" Albert turned and walked off. "I've let them all down…"

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><p>I took another one! I know that my first set of characters don't have a lot of time for development, but I tried my best to give them some realistic emotions that suited their personality. By the way, I should mention that some of Amad's lines were actually pulled from the game he was in (Soviet STRIKE). He was my favorite character in that game just because of some of his lines.<p>

Anywho, I'll probably have one more chapter up today. Maybe two. To whoever read this, thanks for checking this story out.

And just a shout out to Trooper0007: Thank you for commenting, I appreciate what you said and I hope you continue reading my story.


	7. Chapter 6

_Chapter Six: Apocalypto_

_May 28, 2549 10:00 _

_Yonik Nuclear Reactor _

The frigate was now high above the reactor. Pelicans drifted back and forth between the ground and the UNSC ship.

The wounded had gone first and the civilians were now being evacuated.

"The Covenant are on their way again." Nick stated. The troopers who were around Blue Team all voiced their concern and looked at Albert for guidance.

"Alright, everyone stay back towards the LZ. Nick, you've got the Scorpion. Ivan and Amad, you stay with Nick. Grey, come with me." The soldiers followed their orders without question.

The two Spartans started walking towards the Covenant that was making their way down First Landing Mountain. Grey looked over at Albert. He couldn't see his face behind his visor but he knew Albert was calm under his armor. Grey felt nothing. "Listen Grey, they're going to throw everything they have at us. We cannot let them break through."

"So what're you suggesting we do?" Albert stopped and Grey did as well. Albert was staring at the line of Covenant coming down the road. Grey had a feeling that losing so many Spartans and other personnel was starting to get at the major.

"I say we hijack some Covenant vehicles."

"Easy enough; what should we go for? Some Wraiths…Banshees might be better…"

"No." Albert put a hand on Grey's shoulder. "There is a Scarab coming up the mountain to annihilate us."

"So, you're suggesting we steal the fucker?" Grey asked. He knew this plan was bat-shit crazy, but for some reason he liked it.

"Exactly…and the Scarab should be here…any…minute…" there was a loud clanging noise of metal parts and the Scarab appeared at the top of First Landing Mountain. Grey and Albert looked at each other. "Ready to do something incredibly fuckin' dumb today?"

"Hell yes, sir." The two Spartans hefted their weapons onto their backs and started sprinting towards the giant super-vehicle. They rushed through the crowds of Covenant infantry, shoving Elites out of the way and plowing through the yelping grunts.

The Scarab spotted the two Spartans and the 'head' started to charge its main gun. It fired its plasma beam down at the Spartans. Grey and Albert split directions as the beam went right down the road, vaporizing the Covenant that was unable to get out of the way. "How the hell are we going to get up into that thing?" Grey panted.

"I have some plasma grenades; I'll see if we can blow a hole in the side." The Scarab fired again but the Spartans were able to dodge the beam.

The pair was finally able to get under the Scarab and took a few breaths. "Do you have some plasma grenades?" Grey nodded. "Okay, use them on the Scarab's leg there." Grey went over and tossed both blue bombs at the leg. They stuck fast to a vital spot and detonated.

Pieces of the leg came crumbling off and the Scarab was forced to lower itself. Grey accompanied Albert over to the left side of the Scarab. They spotted a panel and Albert tossed his own plasma grenades at it. The door blew apart and the pieces fell onto the ground.

Albert and Grey jumped on the pile of destroyed metal and then jumped inside the Scarab. A group of grunts squeaked in surprise at the appearance of the two Spartans and attempted to flee. Grey gunned them down with his assault rifle.

They checked the bottom level of the Scarab and found no form of control. An Elite investigating the noise came down only to be cut down by Albert's knife. "Take this." Albert tossed an energy wrist blade to Grey. Grey nodded and attached it to his other wrist. He activated both blades and held up his fists.

"I'll take the lead." Grey said, half-jokingly. Albert nodded and let the younger Spartan move forward. As if on cue, an Elite charged down the ramp only to run into both extended energy blades. Grey withdrew the blades from the alien's chest and let the body roll down.

The two Spartans stormed on top of the Scarab and cut down the Elites and grunts that were waiting there. "Where the hell is the cockpit!" Grey and Albert fell down as the Scarab shuddered. The giant machine started moving down the mountain towards the reactor.

"Oh shit…" Albert muttered. "Alright, most Scarabs are controlled by Lekgolo worms…but I know some models have more conventional controls."

"Sir, there's a hatch here." Grey tried to open it but it seemed to be locked. He decided to cut it open with his wrist blades. When he finished, Albert tore it off. An Elite looked up them in surprise.

Grey slammed his fist on the Elite's head and the wrist blade sizzled in his its skull. Grey pulled the limp body out and tossed it away. Albert jumped in and Grey followed.

It was a tight squeeze but both Spartans were able to sit down.

"I'll drive and control the main gun. Use the AA gun mounted on the back to take down as many Banshees as you can or the Pelicans are gonna be cut to pieces." Grey took the controls in his hands and Albert took what looked like the movement controls. Screens popped up in front of them. Albert's showed the path and the reactor complex while Grey's seemed to be higher up.

_"Major, that Scarab is getting closer…" _Amad said shakily over the comms.

_"Idiot, they're controlling the Scarab." _Nick's voice butted in. _"Badass moves guys. But we've got a cluster-fuck of infantry on the road and Banshees overhead. Thin'em out; the Pelicans are having a hard time landing and taking off." _

"Roger that; let's cause some trouble." Albert had acquainted himself with the controls and was already charging the plasma beam. He fired the main gun and the huge green beam of plasma went down the road, obliterating every Covenant vehicle and infantryman running away from it.

Grey started firing the AA gun. The Banshees danced around in the air, confused as to why their own Scarab seemed to be firing at them. Alien garble filled the comms in the Scarab and Albert flicked them off.

Banshees began to explode and plummet to the ground. To make each shoot down even better, they would fall on the Covenant ranks that were attempting to move away from the roads. The crashing Banshees took dozens with them.

"I never thought I'd be doing something like this when I was in training." Grey said to Albert as he destroyed several Banshees with one on volley of plasma rounds.

"We should make some Scarabs of our own. Or maybe we should just take this with us." Grey thought it was funny but was too focused on shooting down Banshees so he forgot to laugh.

Albert had turned the Scarab around so that it could fire at the fresh Covenant infantry was moving over the mountain. The beam carved deep indentations into the mountain with the remains of the aliens within it. The ground became littered with the hulks of destroyed Banshees. The fighting continued for an hour with the Covenant refusing to waver on their assault. The Scarab just kept chewing them up.

All of a sudden, they stopped coming. Albert and Grey looked at each other.

"They're regrouping…or waiting for something…"

_"Sir, the frigate is reporting that the Covenant super-turret that had fired on us on First Landing Mountain is fully charged and is preparing to fire. I think it is rather obvious what it's aiming for…if you catch my drift." _Ivan said over the comms.

"Ivan…" Grey growled.

_"I suggest you leave." _

"Let's go!" Albert and Grey scrambled up from their seats and jumped out of the hole. They looked around quickly before deciding the best way to escape the Scarab's imminent destruction was to jump. "Lock your armor before we hit the ground!"

The pair of Spartans jumped at the same time. It seemed like slow motion as they fell. They hit the ground hard and their shields broke. Grey felt his left arm break and he groaned. Albert hadn't suffered any wounds and got Grey to his feet. They started running from the giant Covenant machine.

They were a good distance away when the super-turret's round hit the Scarab. Despite the distance, the shockwave knocked Grey and Albert over and even caused some of the sheds to collapse. The reactor groaned but didn't fall over.

A few moments after the hit, the Scarab exploded and the burning metal fell into a giant heap on the mountainside. Albert and Grey got onto their feet. They moved back to the LZ.

Ivan, Amad and Nick ran over to greet them. Albert held up his hand, wanting a moment to catch his breath. His breathing was labored and he was bent over, his other hand planted on his chest.

"Major…" Grey put a hand on him.

"I broke some ribs…that's all…" he groaned. "Sitrep…"

"The civilians and most of the troopers have been transported up to the frigate. All that's left are the ODSTs and us. The frigate also reported overwhelming forces of Covvies inbound." Nick explained. Albert nodded and took a long, deep breath.

"Alright…Ivan, it's time to do your job." Ivan nodded as he pulled the HAZOP helmet over his head and tightened the seal. He put on some protective gear and stretched. Amad patted Ivan on the back.

"Overload the reactor and bathe them with fire."

Without saying anything, Ivan started running to the open doorway that led into the reactor. Grey took a few steps after him.

"Wait, Ivan." Ivan came to a stop. "Are you going to have time to make it out?" Ivan was still and silent for a minute before turning.

"Save the lives of those who desire to live. Then if you have time, save mine." With that, the Ukrainian disappeared into the reactor. Grey nodded and looked at the others, who brandished their weapons.

The remaining ODSTs and the remnants of Blue Team took up position around the LZ. The Pelicans were still up in the frigate unloading their passengers. The Covenant was storming down the mountainside and at the UNSC defenses. The frigate was adding to the fight, firing heavy machine guns and cannons down on the advancing Covenant infantry.

"Ivan, what's your status?" Albert asked wearily over the comms.

_"I am inside the main reactor area..." _Ivan laughed a little. _"…feels like home. Glowing floor means I don't need flashlight. Spray death while I ready core and run when I give the signal." _

"Roger that." The men ducked down as plasma flew over their heads. Amad shivered slightly.

"Ivan talks so much of death it unnerves me especially when we find ourselves so close to it." Some of the men chuckled. Then they stood up and started firing on the charging aliens. The aliens were cut down. The jackals were able to defend themselves with their personal shields but the grunts were cut down. The Elites would come close but Nick would ruin their shields with an EMP overcharge from his grenade launcher and a marksman would finish the aliens.

"Ivan, status!" Albert shouted. "The Pelicans are coming into get us!"

_"I am starting to overload the core, but there are buggers in here. I also have Elites trying to break down the door. I will make sure the reactor detonates. Head to the Pelicans, go!"_

"We're not leaving you Ivan!" Nick shouted and made his way out of the trench.

Blue Team and the ODSTs started back up slowly to the landing Pelicans.

"I will not leave him!" Amad weaved his way through running ODSTs and cover until he made it into the reactor. Albert and Grey defended the ODSTs as they piled into the Pelicans.

"Where the hell is Nick!" Grey yelled.

_"Amad and I are inside the reactor room with Ivan. We're pinned down and I think they might have started cooling the-" _there was a loud static noise over the comms for a brief moment and then the link died.

"Nick…Nick! Amad do you read me! Ivan, do you copy!" Grey yelled.

"They're gone Grey!" Albert said, pushing him into the final Pelican. Albert and Grey stared at each other for a moment. They were wearing helmets, but they could feel each other's stare into their eyes. "I'm going in to make sure that reactor detonates." He handed Grey his dog tags. "You have to go." Grey shook his head, trying to find his voice. Albert took off his helmet.

Albert smiled one last time at Grey. "I'll see you there, my friend." The Pelican lifted off and Albert ran into the reactor. Grey sat with his legs hanging out of the Pelicans. Plasma followed the Pelican as it made its way to the frigate. Some of the enemy rounds hit Grey's armor, but he didn't care. He just kept staring down at the reactor, screaming Albert's name. It took eleven ODSTs to pull Grey further back into the Pelican.

After about twenty minutes, the frigate was now in orbit, slowly traveling away from the frigate. Grey stood at a window with some of the survivors. There was a bright flash on the planet followed by a huge cloud of fire.

Grey was silent and still. He couldn't speak. He couldn't move. He couldn't think.

Everything he had held close to him in his life was gone.


	8. Chapter 7

Man, that last chapter was really short. Or at least it felt rushed. I apologize for that and I might go back and fix it sometime (probably not though). So now we're going into Act II of my story, if that's what you wanna call it.

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><p><em>Chapter Seven: A Position… <em>

_June 2, 2549 10:50 Hours _

_UNSC Ironclad _

Grey was sitting in his private quarters. The captain had kindly given Grey a private room, knowing that he wanted to be alone with his thoughts. It was a small room with a bed, a desk, a table and some other furniture decorated the room. It wasn't a five star hotel room, but it was better than the overcrowded barracks.

Grey had seated himself at the table which was next to the only window in the private quarters. His broken arm was in a sling and multiple bandages covered his bare chest and arms. The wounds on his legs were hidden by a pair of cargo pants and his fractured ankle was wrapped up. It was cold in the room and the chilliness nipped at his bare feet.

Troopers and ODSTs would come by every so often, expressing gratitude and offering their condolences. Everyone had heard about the loss of the Spartans and Grey's team. They felt they owed him their lives; they viewed him as a hero.

Needless to say, Grey didn't care what they called him. But he appreciated the peoples' words when they came by. Even some of the civilians had stopped by. A young lady had given Grey a small vase of flowers for the table. Grey was brushing one of the red pedals with his index finger as his eyes drifted to the window. He stared out at space and the distant stars.

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in." a man dressed in half civilian attire, half UNSC armor, entered the quarters. Grey looked the man up in down. "I know you…"

"I'm Harold Stevenson. I'm the holo-journalist who took that picture of you and your team on Piltran when the operation took off." Stevenson pulled up a chair and looked at Grey for a moment.

"Glad you made it, Stevenson."

"I wish the same could be said for your team. They gave their lives to protect us. I'm sorry they're gone." Grey nodded and turned his attention back to space. Stevenson sighed sadly. "I was finally able to develop the holo-still of your team." He pulled the item from his pocket and slid it across the table to Grey's side. "I know your team wanted to have it…especially that girl." Grey closed his eyes for a moment, letting images of Delilah flash through his mind like a slideshow.

Stevenson stood up and started to leave.

"Stevenson." He stopped at the door and looked back at Grey. "Thank you." Stevenson smiled and left.

Grey remembered hoping that the team would live enough to see this picture. He shook his head and looked at the picture.

Tears started to roll down Grey's face. In the holo-still, Blue Team was posing in front of the Scorpion. Everyone had their helmets off. Albert was furthest to the right with his hands behind his back. He stood straight and tall. There was a look of pride on his face but there was no smile.

Delilah and Grey were standing a little bit away from Albert. They were standing as close as they could together. Delilah was smiling beautifully with her head leaning towards Grey. They were holding hands. Grey looked at himself in the picture; he had a small smile on his face. He had just been happy to be holding Delilah's hand.

Taylor had his arm resting on Grey's shoulder and stood with one leg crossed over the other. He was grinning at the camera. The rocket launcher he had always carried was attached to his back. Nick, Amad and Ivan were crouched in front of Grey and Delilah. They had their arms on each other's shoulders and they had wide smiles on their faces.

Grey put the picture down and slid it away from him. He couldn't look at it any longer.

There was another knock on the door. Grey quickly cleaned his face. "Come in." A colonel walked in. Grey went to stand up and salute, but the colonel shook his hand.

"Stay seated." He said. "I'm Colonel Adrian Samson." The colonel spoke with an accent. His clean uniform had a dozen medals and ribbons attached to it. Samson had sharp features. He had jet black hair and equally dark eyes. His skin was slightly pale.

Samson walked over slowly and sat down. "I'm sorry about your team, Greyson. They were some of the best Spartans to have ever served in the UNSC." He said. Grey raised an eyebrow in suspicion. No one outside of the Spartans and his unit was supposed to know his name.

"I prefer Grey, sir. And thank you, I appreciate you coming in here." Samson nodded and looked at Grey for a moment. Grey was used to newcomers looking at him with doubt filled eyes that judged him too quickly. That was usually when he was in his armor though. Samson had an understanding look in his eyes. But another part of Grey told him that there was an opportunist behind those eyes.

"I've heard a bit about you." Samson finally said. _Again, not something that someone I don't know should be saying to me. _"From what I've gathered, you seem to be the best Spartan to appear from Beta Company."

"I don't mean to question rank sir, but how do you know that?" Samson smiled slowly, a bold slick smile.

"I'm in charge of SpecWar Group Two. I'm also an officer of ONI. I have ways to gather intelligence, my boy." Grey nodded slowly. "I understand that you are now without a unit."

"Yes sir…" Grey growled. Samson saw the anger flare in Grey's eyes and cleared his throat.

"Well, I have a position opened up in Group Two, if you're interested." The pain would probably never leave him, but Grey knew that he was a Spartan and it was hid duty to serve the UNSC. And whatever the position was, it was better than rotting away in a med-bay or on some other colony world that was going down the drain.

"Give me the overview, sir."

"You'd be mainly running solo, stealth ops on the colony of Mamore." _Coulda just said black ops…_ "Your objectives may be slightly different than the ones given to you when you were fighting the Covenant. Hostage rescue, search and destroy, HVT extraction, simply thinning numbers and things like that." Samson leaned forward, folding his arms together. "You'd be fighting rebels, boy."

Grey blinked a few times. He had been trained to fight Covenant and there had been talk of dealing with rebels from time to time but nothing had ever really happened. _Could I really kill a human being? _Grey didn't know where he'd be sent once he was healed up. Maybe this position wouldn't last too long. Maybe he wouldn't have to actually shoot a human. Grey knew the only way he could actually take his mind off his deceased team would be doing his job.

"Well, sir, considering my current situation I guess I could take the position."

"Good!" Samson beamed. But the smile left, remembering Grey's recent experience. "Good…all I have to do is pull some paperwork and you'll be a part of Group Two. I'm promoting you to lieutenant too." Samson stood up and shook Grey's hand. "Thank you for accepting. I thought that Alpha Company had finished off the rebels in 2537, but they've returned stronger than ever. I don't have a suitable amount of resources and troops to counter the rebel threats on Mamore. With you there the situation will probably be resolved rather shortly." Grey nodded and smiled at the colonel who respectfully decided to leave.

Grey looked back out the window, pondering if he made the right choice.


	9. Chapter 8

Man, been a while since I updated. I've been kind of busy with school and my English teacher wants snippets of my writing so I've been busy writing a short story for her. But here's a little something for ya. No action, but some...stuff. And the dialog is gonna be kinda boring and lengthy, but I will probably have another chapter up today or tomorrow (promise).

By the way, Trooper0007, Lady Xzephyr of Helven and TheSniperInTheHouse (love your names), thank you for those comments. I really appreciate what you said and I'll update whenever possible.

Enjoy.

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><p><em>Chapter Eight: Tools of the Trade<em>

_October 17, 2549 7:00 Hours _

_UNSC Special Operations Headquarters_

_Planet Mamore _

_Grey and Delilah stood at attention in the commandant's officer, looking ahead as CPO Franklin Mendez screamed at them. Lieutenant Colonel Kurt Ambrose leaned back in the chair, watching the scene play out. He hadn't said a single word since he ordered Grey and Delilah to walk in. _

_ Just as CPO Mendez was about to start another rant about throwing them in the brig, the lieutenant commander raised his hand. _

_ "That's enough Chief Petty Officer. Could you step out for a moment?" CPO Mendez blinked once, saluted and left the room. There was an uneasy silence in the air as the two trainees stared above the Spartan II. Finally, Grey couldn't keep silent._

_ "Lieutenant Commander Ambrose, I'd like to explain the situation, sir!" _

_ "Please, right now, call me Kurt. And sit down you two." There was an odd gentle tone in his voice. Grey and Delilah looked at each other in confusion but did as they were told. Kurt leaned forward, folding his hands together as he looked at the pair with a smile on his face. "Go ahead." _

_ "Sir-"_

_ "Kurt." He reminded him. Grey looked uneasily at Delilah. He bit his lip nervously. Delilah took a deep breath. _

_ "Grey and I have been close friends since we came here. Our feelings have grown for each other and there's really nothing we can do about it. We're still human beings and I think we should be allowed to maintain a relationship." Delilah said this with her arms crossed and looking at Kurt with a professional stare. "I know it's against the rules, but frankly, I don't care. Grey and I mean a lot to each other. And I was the one who…" Kurt raised his hand. _

_ "Take it easy." He chuckled. "I'm not gonna punish you." Grey and Delilah were surprised but smiled and looked at each other with restored hope. "On three conditions: don't let it get in the way of your training, don't let the other Spartans find out and don't sneak out of the camp. If any of those conditions are not followed I'll toss you both in the brig." Grey and Delilah nodded. "Now get out of here and get some breakfast."_

_ Grey and Delilah stood up and went for the door. Delilah went first and Grey was about to follow. "Greyson, stay a minute. I've got something to tell you." Grey looked back from Kurt to Delilah. She shrugged. Grey gulped and stepped back inside as the door closed. _

_ He sat down and Kurt stared at him for a minute. Grey felt that uneasy silence returning again. "You have no idea what just walked into your arms. Delilah is probably going to the greatest thing in your life." Grey gave him a puzzled look. "Most Spartans can't find love. Hell, most of them can't show emotion." Kurt leaned forward. "Promise me, that you'll protect Delilah and never let her go." _

_ "I promise." Kurt smiled and nodded. _

_ "Good. Off with you then." Grey stood up and opened the door. He stopped halfway and turned. _

_ "Why did you want to talk to me like this?" Kurt's smile saddened. _

_ "Because I don't want you to make the mistake I did. I let a girl I cared about go. She's been missing in action since 2531." _

_ "A Spartan?"_

_ "Alice…" Kurt's eyes became clouded with memory. He shook his head a little and then waved at Grey. "I told you to get out, Spartan. Move it." _

It was three months after Grey had escaped Piltran. His wounds had healed and he was sitting in Colonel Samson's office waiting for him. Grey stared at his helmet. They had taken it away for a few days to run some maintenance on it. His silver visor was now replaced by a black one.

The door flung open and a smiling Samson strutted in. He raised his hand as Grey went to stand up.

"At ease lieutenant; I like to keep things informal around here." Grey nodded. Samson seemed rather enthusiastic. "Have you settled into your quarters?" Grey nodded again. Samson stared at him for a moment. "If that's all well in good, I guess you're ready for your first assignment. One of my patrols found the entrance to what they think is an underground rebel outpost. I want you to head to the coordinates they've given you and investigate. If it's empty, leave it be. If there are rebels in there, I want them cleared out to the last one; take no prisoners." Samson slid a file across his desk and Grey took it. "Any questions?"

Grey flipped through the file and found a picture of a dark haired woman.

"Who's this?"

"One of the rebel's leaders, callsign HVT Twelve, or just Twelve. She's the cruelest of the rebel leaders out here. She takes pleasure in butchering my men. If you find her, make sure you eliminate her as well. Any more questions?"

"Why is my visor darkened?" Grey asked in a quiet voice. Samson smiled.

"Ah, one of the first lessons of Mamore!" he exclaimed. "You will have many weapons at your disposal, but your greatest one shall be fear. By creating a frightening image for yourself that will most likely be known among the rebels wrecking this planet, they'll be discouraged and soon they won't even want to fight. And what's scarier than a giant suit of armor with a dark face plate staring at you?" Grey put his helmet on. Is that all he was; a suit of armor? Grey didn't care.

"I need a weapon." Samson chuckled at Grey's unintended joke.

"Head down to the armory and ask for Erick. He'll give you what you need. He'll also supply you with a Warthog. Don't forget to introduce yourself to him!" Samson called as Grey left the office.

Grey stopped in the armory door. The armory was in a large room, most likely the garage. It was mostly dark except for the dim orange lights that hung from the ceiling. Sparks flew from the tools a few mechanics were using to fix a pair of Warthogs. A group of grubby soldiers stood in the center. Cigarette smoke hung above their heads. They were playing cards and laughing.

It sent a painful image of when Nick taught Grey how to play poker.

"I'm looking for Erick." Grey said loudly, not wanting to remember.

"Over here." Grey turned to his left and saw a man behind a counter. Grey approached him. "I'm Erick, the quartermaster. I'm also the garage keeper, and operations controller." He laughed. "I'm basically everything except for the doc and the man in charge!"

Erick was a red haired man with a scraggly beard, rough looking skin and dull hazel eyes. Scars covered the left half of his face. And when he smiled, it was revealed that he was missing most of his teeth.

"Colonel Samson said you have some weapons."

"Sure do!" he reached down and pulled up the three items. He held up a pistol. "This here's M6C SOCOM or as we call it, the automag: integrated sound suppressor, four times zoom VnSLS/V 6E smart scope. It's got a twelve round clip, armor piercing rounds and a high rate of fire. If you was fightin' Covvies, I'd tell ya to use this on little guys or fer close quarters headshots. But since we're fighting our own fuckin' people, you just gotta aim and shoot." Grey took the pistol and clipped it against his soft case.

Erick displayed the SMG next. "M7S Caseless SMG: features a SS/M four-nine flash and sound suppressor and a flashlight on the bottom of the barrel. Fully automatic, forty-eight rounds to a clip, all rounds are FMJ. We also gotta reflex sight on top too so you got some major accuracy, especially dark and nighttime situations or in close quarters."

Grey attached the SMG to his right hip. Erick kind if seemed like a man trying to make a profit for these weapons. "And last but not least, an MA37 AR if things get heavy. I've attached a suppressor to the barrel and took the scope off a DMR and slapped it on. I don't think I need to explain the specs and whatever." Grey took the customized rifle and slid it onto his back.

"Why is everything suppressed?" he asked.

"I'm sure the colonel already went over lesson one?" Grey nodded. "Well, I give lesson two. Stealth is one of your biggest tools out here. Most of your ops'll probably involve sneaking into rebel strongholds and outposts. You'll be outnumbered most of the time, and you're just one Spartan." Erick smiled his toothy grin. "You're a lone wolf now, kiddo."

_Lone wolf…_

"Anyways, you'll be outnumbered so it's best to take down the bad guys silently so you won't alert anyone else. Common sense mostly." Erick shrugged. "Also, shadows and darkness are gonna be your best friends in the tunnels. I don't think I have to say you can hide in the dark and pounce when the enemy least expects it. And if there ain't no darkness, make some. Put out fires, pull out a light bulb, whatever." Grey gathered up the ammunition and other equipment. He stocked it on his armor.

"You know a lot about the rebels here."

"Well I should- I was with them for a while." Grey looked up slowly. Erick's smile was gone. "Biggest mistake of my life, joining them queers. I mean, I don't know what possessed me to go against my own people who were actually trying to protect me from a bunch of genocidal squids?" Erick shook his head. "I turned myself in and they're making me do this instead of rotting in a cell. It feels better to be on the good side…but I don't feel like it's right."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't think it's right, killin' our own; doin' that makes us no better than them split-faces." Erick spoke in a low tone. "I wanted to get away from killin' our own. But they think it's better for the defector to help deal with them." Erick shrugged and the smile returned.

"Has to be done…" Grey murmured. Erick's eyes narrowed at Grey but then he sighed.

"Well I've kept ya long enough Grey. You better head out; the Warthog's all fueled up outside. You need anything else, gimme a call on the base frequency." Grey nodded and headed for the front garage doors, which were opened.

Something caught his attention. _I didn't tell him my name. How the hell does he know my name? _Grey turned back to the counter, but Erick had disappeared.


	10. Chapter 9

Well, that took longer than expected. That took a lot longer than I expected. That's what happens when you trying writing a story when Gears of War 3 decides to enter your household and demands to be played. Anyways, this turned out to be not a very exciting chapter but one that shows the things to come. It's also graphic (whether it's not so or extremely graphic is entirely up to you; it's rated M for a reason!). I hope you enjoy (please don't enjoy this chapter. I mean, well read it please so you can continue the story, just don't like the part, yeah you get what I mean).

And a thank you to the latest reviewer, Elite-Slayer 117. What you said means a lot and was enough to make me get off my ass to actually finish writing this chapter tonight. Thank you very much!

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><p><em>Chapter Nine: An Eye for an Eye<em>

_October 17, 2549 09:57 Hours _

_Eastern Hills _

Grey parked the Warthog a few years away from the cave entrance that was marked by the NAV marker. He took a look around- nothing came up on the motion tracker. Flicking the safety off on his assault rifle, Grey hopped out of the Warthog and started moving towards the cave.

"Whoa, a Spartan…" Grey whipped around, weapon raised to find several troopers staring at him in fear. "Hold fire, we're friendlies!" Grey cursed himself for not paying attention to the motion tracker like he should have.

"When Samson said he'd be sending support, I had no idea he'd be sending a super soldier!" one of the younger troopers stated excitedly. "What're you orders?" Grey looked at each man for a moment.

"Guard the truck." The troopers all looked disappointed but one stepped forward, obviously their leader.

"Uh…sir is it?" Grey nodded. "One of our guys went in to investigate the cave and he didn't come back out. It's been an hour and there's been no radio contact with him or signs of his vitals…"

"I'll find him." And with that, Grey turned and headed into the cave.

It was a small cave and only a portion of it was lit up by the light flooding in from the entrance. Grey stepped into the cave and flicked on the helmet's night vision. The darkness was lit to the familiar dull green color.

There was no sign of digging on the walls or any other ways to patrol through. But as Grey took another heavy step he heard a _thump _as his metal boot fell on something wooden. Bending over, Grey found a wooden hatch. He checked it for any traps then tried tugging it open.

It was locked. Grey sighed before clicking his assault rifle onto his back, standing on the wooden hatch and jumped into the air. Then he brought himself back down with as much force as he could. The hatch was turned into splinters and Grey found himself falling through a much deeper hole than he expected.

After a few moments Grey hit the bottom- rather somebody standing at the bottom. There was a sickening _crunch _of bones under his feet and Grey looked down to see a rebel crushed beneath his weight.

Grey shook his head as small bits of wood from the hatch bounced off his armor. Again, it was a rookie error that he should have given more thought too.

_So sloppy…maybe I'm rustier that I thought. _

Grey took his assault rifle in his hands and started heading through the tunnel the rebel had been facing. Nothing was showing up on the motion tracker. No other signs of rebel activity other than one flattened guard.

_Erick said use the darkness to hide myself. Well that's easy enough; if I didn't have my night vision I couldn't see jack shit down here. _The tunnel turned to the right sharply and Grey stopped when he saw a light flashing at the end.

A red dot moved across his motion tracker and Grey took a few silent steps forward. Soon he could hear someone whistling to himself. Sliding up to the edge of the exit of Grey's tunnel, Grey took a quick peek around the corner.

A lone rebel guard was gathering a few logs of wood from the other side of the small room to put on a fire he had made.

_One guard…these rebels are giving Samson a hard time? _The rebel stacked the logs on the fire, sending a cloud of sparks spiraling upwards. The guard sat down in front of the fire- his back turned to Grey.

His first impulse was to use the energy wrist blades, but Grey remembered they created a small glow of light from either wrist and made an electrical noise when they developed. So he switched to his combat knife and darted from the corner.

Grey clamped his hand on the rebel's mouth and slid the blade across his throat. The rebel gurgled into Grey's hand and blood trickled around his palm. The body went limp and Grey tossed it aside. Remembering Erick's advice, Grey stamped out the fire.

No sooner had he done so, there was a loud annoyed growl from another tunnel that was connected to the room.

"Sheen, ya god damn idiot!" a voice shouted. "I thought I told you to put more wood on the fire, not put it out!" the rebel walked in to find the room so darkened that he couldn't see. Only the strong smell of burnt would and smoke was present. "Sheen?

The rebel stepped towards the remains of the fire until he felt his boot hit something. He knelt down and was horrified to find Sheen's body. "Holy shit!" the rebel jumped to his feet and turned to run back into the tunnel he came from. Instead, he slammed into a large metal figure that had been behind him.

Grey grabbed the rebel by his face and then smashed his head against the rock wall. There was a _crack _and the body slumped over. Sheathing his knife, Grey swiftly moved into the next tunnel.

Grey found that the rock-wall tunnels changed to concrete and soon he came to a large metal door. Glancing at his motion tracker, he could see there were seven targets in the next room. They seemed like they were in a semi-circle.

Quickly thinking of a plan, Grey switched to the automag and SMG, holding one in either hand. He kicked down the door, which slid across the barracks and crushed two guards against the wall.

_Five…_

Grey, using the SMG in his right hand, gunned down three men who were running for their weapons.

_Two… _

Two had tried to find cover, dropping their mugs of coffee. Grey fired only two rounds, each one burying into a rebel's head. Grey thought the room was empty but he noticed all the rebels getting up from their bunks. Quickly he used up the rest of the clips in his two weapons before placing them back on his armor.

Only a few rebels were left, but were soon finished as Grey cut them down with his assault rifle. Over a dozen men were left riddled with bullets, some not even out of their now bloodied beds.

Grey reloaded his weapons. Just as he finished the only other door in the room opened and a rebel appeared.

"What the hell is going on!" was all he managed to say before Grey fired a round into his head. He sprinted down the short tunnel and into another room.

Grey quickly sized up the situation before. HVT Twelve (his target) plus two other unarmed rebels stared at him in shock. Behind them was a small table with a tray covered in bloody tools.

What had happened to the missing trooper was clear. Grey saw the unclothed, mangled body hung on the wall. Blood coated the wall and flowed from the long wounds in his chest. His face wasn't even recognizable.

"Samson's new lapdog?" HVT Twelve asked defiantly. The older looking male rebel went for his pistol but was also ended by a single shot from Grey's automag. He aimed the pistol at the younger male rebel who cowered beside his leader, then at HVT Twelve.

"My commander sent me here to kill you." Grey said in a dark voice. HVT Twelve smiled.

"Well get on with it." Grey looked at the body of the missing trooper. _She doesn't deserve the bullet. _Grey put his automag away before taking HVT Twelve by her shirt collar. He held up his fist and then looked at the terrified rebel.

The words of Samson echoed and repeated in Grey's head. "_You will have many weapons at your disposal, but your greatest one shall be fear. By creating a frightening image for yourself that will most likely be known among the rebels wrecking this planet, they'll be discouraged and soon they won't even want to fight."_

Grey suppressed a snort. _Better start putting lesson one into effect. _

"You- remember everything you see here and tell your buddies about it when I leave." As Grey finished his order, the energy wrist blade on his feet hand slowly appeared.

_Several hours later… _

Colonel Samson sat in his office, going about his paperwork with a contented smile on his face.

The arrival of Grey had put him in a much better mood than he had constantly been in before. He felt that maybe things were going to change now that the Spartan was here. Maybe his efforts would keep the rebels from acting up. Then Samson, Grey and the rest of the personnel could be diverted to the real war effort- instead of battling their own people.

The door swung open and Samson jumped. Grey stood in the doorway and tossed something into the room. A severed head landed with a _splat _on Samson's desk and Samson got from his chair, stepping back.

"What the hell is this!"

"HVT Twelve, sir." Grey answered and stepped in. "Mission accomplished. The tunnels are clear, HVT bagged and tagged and I just sent the engineers to blow the tunnels." Samson blinked a few times and stared the dark armored Spartan.

He reluctantly reached down and shifted head so he could see its face. Sure enough, Samson found himself staring into the face from HVT Twelve.

"Well done Grey…" Samson grimaced. "But this is a bit excessive, don't you think?"

"If you saw what she had done to the trooper she had captured, you'd understand this is proper punishment." Grey explained what HVT Twelve had done to the captured trooper and Samson felt his stomach quiver.

"I'm sure you didn't just cut off her head." Samson said after a moment.

"I can only imagine the pain of the trooper had to endure. So thought it only fair she endure worse. An eye and for an eye, sir…" Samson nodded slowly. "I'm sorry; I agree this shouldn't have been done. I was just remembering lesson one…" Samson laughed.

"No, as gruesome as this is, it's a good start to striking fear in the rebels." Samson tried to imagine what Grey's face looked like under his helmet, or what was going through his head. He was just standing there and from what his voice showed Grey did not seem unnerved by his actions.

Samson knew that what Grey had done was unacceptable. But then again, so was lesson one. It would be best that no one would ever know.

With a smile, Samson cleared his throat. "Well Grey, I guess I can say good work. You followed lesson one and you've delivered. That's very good. Just…just try not to bring your work back to base, please." Grey nodded and picked up the head.

"Orders, sir?"

"I'll let you know when you'll have your next mission. Until then I suggest you get rid of the head, visit the base doctor and get some rest."

Grey nodded and left the room. He didn't know what to think. He could see that Samson was both pleased and disgusted with his work. And Grey felt nothing. He just kept repeating lesson one in his head. It made it seem like what he had done was justice. What it truly was, was obvious and Grey didn't want to admit it.

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><p>Yeah, pretty gross right? I had actually had to change this chapter a few nights ago because I figured what I had originally planed for this chapter was too disgusting to ever be read. So, I thought this was the better alternative. I'm starting to think it's not, but hey, too late for that!<p> 


	11. Chapter 10

__IT HAS BEEN A WHILE...since the last time...yeah anyways. Sorry that I haven't posted anything in like...a month? Two months? I can't remember. But, hopefully I'll get back on track with this story and get it rolling again. Just to tell you right off the bat, no action in this chapter. Sorry, but I think it's healthy that not every chapter have action in it. You all probably say otherwise but again, I like a story that has a good balance of action and...other stuff. And to be fair, most chapters in this story that don't have action are important into revealing something about a character, introducing a new character, revealing items related to the plot of the story, etc. You probably all know that already but hey, I'm just sayin'. Anyways, enjoy the chapter and again, sorry to my...what is it, five readers (I GOT FANS...*sniff*) about taking so long.

By the way, Dimpiece18! HOW DARE YOU DEMAND THE CHAPTERS BE LONGER? HOW DARE YOU ASK SOMETHING OF ME LIKE- nah I'm just kidding. I like what you said, made me chuckle and WORRY NOT, the chapters will get longer but I don't want to bore you guys to tears with length. But trust me, the chapters will get somewhat longer, especially when we get to REACH.

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><p><em>Chapter Ten: Sorry About the Boy <em>

_October 18, 2549 11:45 Hours _

_UNSC Special Operations Headquarters_

It was the next day and Grey decided now was a good a time as any to visit the doctor. He had spent the remainder of yesterday washing the blood from his armor and weapons before getting some sleep.

Now dressed in his off-duty fatigues- some boots, cargo pants and a black tee shirt, Grey walked through the rather empty hallways towards the medical office. His hands were jammed in his pockets, his hair recently trimmed and his face shaved.

A demeanor of sadness radiated from the hunched over Spartan as he slowly walked through the halls, his footsteps echoing and bouncing along the walls. Grey had hoped to make some new acquaintances on Mamore, but realized that he just preferred the solitariness.

Yesterday was bothering him. What he had done at the time seemed right- avenging a man's death and following orders. Now with time to think, Grey was tortured by it. He had never planned on killing another human being, especially in the way he had done so.

Samson had given the orders so casually, like he said them to every newcomer on base. Maybe his orders were corrupt.

_No. He wouldn't give the orders unless there wasn't another option to achieve victory. _

Grey looked at a door with the sign that said MED-BAY on it. He knocked on the door and let himself in. The med bay was a medium sized room. There were a fed beds with white sheets covered them. Medical equipment, storage lockers and terminals were set up. There were no wounded men in the clinic.

A man in white coat turned and looked at Grey. Grey was taken aback a moment. The man's head was wrapped in bandages. There were only slits where his eyes, nose and mouth were, and even then they were still barely visible. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing his forearms and hands which were also covered with bandages.

"Hello lieutenant." He said. "What can I do for you?"

"Sir!" Grey answered after seeing the captain bars on his lab coat's shoulders. He saluted and the doctor shook his head.

"Ah, no need for that in here. I ignore ranks and status in the med bay. In here, everyone's equal." He set down a clipboard on his desk and with a sigh he sat down. Grey loosened up a bit. "Sit down."

Grey sat down on the end of one of the beds. He was about to state his name when the doctor interrupted him. "Lieutenant Greyson. I know who you are, don't worry."

"Did the colonel tell you I was coming?"

"No. My son used to talk about you all the time in his letters." Grey blinked a few times. Then it hit him.

"You're Kyle's father…" he nodded slowly and Grey felt his eyes begin to water.

"Please, just call me Norman in here." The doctor pulled his seat closer to Grey.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save your son. I…I tried. I really did. But there was just so many of them, so much confusion."

Norman put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.

"Easy Greyson; you have to let these kind of things out slowly." Grey looked up at Norman slightly, looking into his dark blue eyes. They were filled with understanding, comfort. "I've already had my share of tears. You should let yours out, because I can tell you haven't done that."

Grey shook his head, quickly swiping at his eyes. Norman rolled back in his seat, crossing his legs and staring at Grey. "If you want to talk about my son, that's fine. If you don't, I understand. But I hope you understand that I don't blame you for Kyle's death. Nor your team…" Norman paused. "…sorry, for them I mean. If you need to talk to about them too go ahead."

Grey shook his head. He could feel the pain and pressure building up in his chest and in his throat. He didn't want to feel any of it. His mind searched for something to lure him away it all.

"You're not like other doctors I've met." Norman laughed a little.

"I'm unorthodox in nature. But I have skills in multiple fields. I can fix anything from broken bones to plasma burns and broken minds. I was a therapist before I enlisted with the UNSC, and that's part of my job here with the garrison. Almost everyone's lost something, someone or both in this god damn war. It's impossible not be physically, mentally, emotionally or even spiritually affected by it. So I try to help everyone cope." Norman folded his hands together. "And I can instantly see that you've lost a lot…"

Norman stood up and went to a file cabinet. He pulled up a file, went to his desk and got another clipboard and wrote something down. "…I don't usually do this but I'm _ordering _you to visit me at least three or more times a week so we can sort you out." Grey was surprised. He had only been in there for a few minutes and this man was already writing him down for extra visits?

And Grey knew what he said next was a lie.

"But I'm fine!"

"Bullshit." Grey blinked and Norman stood there, his gaze turning somewhat icy. "I've never worked medically with a Spartan before, but I've seen plenty of men and women like you. Worse, even. And I've heard them say they're fine as I watched them fall apart." Norman sat down the file and clipboard and rubbed the top of his head. "You were my son's closest friend. I ain't gonna see you break apart like all the others who refused."

Norman walked back over to Grey, who was silent. "Do it for my son, will you?"

Grey turned his head, looking at the gray concrete walls of the med bay, thinking.

_For Kyle…_

"Yeah…yeah I'll do it."

"Good."

Before they got down to business, Norman made them both lunch. They sat for a little while, eating sandwiches and drinking orange juice Norman picked up from the mess hall. Norman had loosened the bandages around his mouth. His lips seemed somewhat deformed, unnatural.

Grey noticed this but didn't stare and didn't say anything about them.

As they finished up, Grey wiped his mouth.

"So, where do you want me to start?"

"Well, we're going to eventually have to talk about your team. I know we're not exactly comfortable with that so let's start with what happened yesterday." Grey raised an eyebrow. "I saw the severed head, boy. I don't think many people can go to sleep peacefully knowing they chopped off someone's head unless they're some mass murdering psychopath."

Grey leaned back a little, clasping his hands together. "So why'd you do it, and why's it bothering you?"

"Well…I did it because…well there were a couple reasons." Grey felt uncomfortable even talking about this, but he knew Norman was a professional. He knew what he was talking about. What he was doing for Grey was important. And needless to say, Grey wanted to actually talk about it.

He was just afraid to.

Grey took a deep breath. "At first it was just following an order."

"I thought you went in solo."

"I did. But Samson had told me during the brief that one of our weapons was fear. That if I wanted to quickly put an end to innie activity on this planet I'd have to make image for myself; one that would scare the rebels so much they wouldn't want to fight anymore. Samson said it was one of the lessons of fighting rebels on Mamore."

"He's still doing those so-called lessons?" Norman sounded disgusted. "I thought he stopped that shit a year ago…I'll have to…er, never mind. Keep going."

_I guess I haven't been the first…_

"But it was also because of the trooper they had tortured. They brutalized him- murdered him. If you had seen the corpse…" Grey shook his head. "It pissed me off. I felt the need to get some payback for him I guess."

"Payback? Avenge some man you hadn't existed in your world until yesterday? Some man you didn't even know?" Grey nodded. "I know that the bond between UNSC personnel, whether they know each other or not, is strong. But you're a Spartan. Many members of the UNSC still look down at Spartans with distaste- think you're just a bunch of machines and Spartans accept that. Have you?" Grey nodded. "Hell, when I was a combat man, the Spartans I knew didn't show any emotion at all."

"Is that also why you're so interested in me?" Grey asked, trying not to sound bitter. Norman nodded. "Well yeah, I didn't know him but I wanted to get back at them. Plus I was trying to do what my commanding officer told me to; create an image for myself. So what?"

"Do you think it was a little more than that?"

"What do you mean?"

"Sure, it pissed you off. Sure, you were following an order. But did you see something else on that body?" Grey stared at him for a moment. Norman's eyes stared back at him, like he knew something Grey didn't.

_"Well, get on with it." Grey looked at the body of the missing trooper. His head was leaning back. It was the only part of his body that seemed untouched. He started at longer than he thought he did. _

_ The face started to change. It changed from Albert's to Taylor's, to Delilah's and Kyle's, Nick's, Ivan's and Amad's. Anger flared through Grey's body. Pain shook his arms. His heart began to pound with each painful memory of their faces. _

_ Grey looked back at HVT Twelve- the smug smile, that daring looking her eyes. Grey's vision started turning red. It blurred him, it blurred everything. HVT's face changed. Her body changed. He found himself looking at an Elite, covered in the blood of his team. Their bodies were lying at its feet. _

_ The Elite waited for him to shoot. But it wasn't worth a bullet. _

_ As his vision cleared Grey grabbed HVT Twelve by her shirt collar. _

_ She had killed them. _

"I saw…I saw their faces." Grey whispered. "All of their faces. And I looked at the HVT. And I saw her turn into an Elite. And I was so angry. I felt so much pain. It felt like…like…she had killed them. It felt like…it still feels like that I didn't avenge my team. That since I failed to protect them, that I had to avenge them…and I didn't get to that. I guess, during my…rage or whatever…I thought she was the next best thing." Grey looked at Norman. "If that makes any sense…"

"Makes perfect sense: when you lose someone to another, at first you don't know what to do. Sadness and pain is all there is. And then later, that pain flourishes into something. Can make you do things you never thought you could do. And the biggest one is the feeling to make someone pay for the dead." Norman shrugged a little. "Natural human thing, like the feeling to blame someone for something…that fits to this. And with that HVT, you had a flashback of a time when you want to get some payback for your team. You _needed _to kill something."

Grey was quiet for a moment.

"Did you feel that way when you lost members of your family?"

"Of course; every time I lost someone I felt the need to go get some revenge. I couldn't save'em, so avenging them was the next best thing. It was like the need to rip something...someone apart with my bare hands." Grey felt his lips curl slightly.

"I guess we're kinda alike."

"That's right. Guys like us ought to stick together." Norman said in a voice of bravado, making Grey smile a bit more. "Listen, you gotta figure out how to control that pain and anger. Don't let them control you or else you're gonna end up doing worse than what you did yesterday. Otherwise you're just killing yourself, bud."

"But what about following the lessons? The orders?" Norman didn't say anything for a moment.

"Well, I'm just saying what _I_ think is best for you Greyson. But it comes down to what _you_ think is best for _you. _If you think orders are more important, keep doing what you're doing. If you want to learn some control, recover from the pain of loss; well then don't do what you're doing. And before you even think that there's some kind of compromise, forget it. I haven't seen one yet, and if you do figure one out, please tell me."

"What kinda therapist are you?" Grey asked jokingly and started talking in a mocking voice. "You should do this, but it's up to you. I thought you had to do whatever a therapist tells you to." Norman said nothing and Grey winced. "Well um...I'd obviously like to recover."

"Yeah, but I can also tell you're a professional." Grey felt that if he could see Norman's lips again, he'd be smirking. "You're a Spartan- a soldier through and through. You've been trained your entire life to be one, to follow orders, to fight wars. You might think otherwise, but I know that there's going to be a lot of conflict in your head about this. Recovering might be more painful, might be harder than simply following orders. It's understandable that you'd turn to what you're used to if it meant dulling the pain rather than making it go away, which is much more difficult."

Grey was silent. Norman was alright. And he was a damn good doctor. Grey was amazed that Norman was able to read him instantly just by looking at him.

_Kyle's letters probably explained a lot too…_

"Okay doc…" Grey said. "You're right about that."

"Look, I'm not the one to direct your life. I can only give some advice that you can follow. I just want to help, s'all I'm saying."

"I know. I appreciate it. And please understand I'm taking everything into consideration, don't worry."

"Good." Norman looked at the clock, realizing they had been here longer than it seemed. "I think that's good enough for today. Trust me, we've made some progress here."

"Okay. I'll see you some other time."

"Agreed…" Norman got up and stood beside the door as Grey started to leave.

"What would you do? Follow orders or recover?"

"I ain't gonna tell you." Norman answered. "You've got to think about it." Grey nodded and looked over his shoulder as he stepped out.

"Again Norman, I'm sorry…"

"You're sorry about the boy! I get it!" Norman laughed and pretended that he was going to kick Grey. "Get outta here!" Grey chuckled for the first time in a while and walked down the hallway.

He shoved his hands pack into his pockets. His face changed. The smile left, the chuckling stopped. It was quiet. Lots of time…too much time to think…

_I'm a soldier. I have to follow orders. It's my job, my obligation and duty as a Spartan. _

_ But I'm also human. Don't I deserve a chance to get the misery, pain and anger out of my life before it defines me?_

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><p><em><em>Just in case you don't remember, Kyle Langley was a member of Blue Team from the very first chapter when Grey was having a flashback. Just in case. I wish I came up with a better name than Norman though. But I've always liked that name. I respect Norman. And you know what- no never mind I'll shut up now. You know me and my rambling...dammit!


	12. Chapter 11

__Hey, guess who's back? Definitely not this guy! Nah, I'm sorta back. I originally was gonna put this story on hold but...em...Insanepyro's shotgun poses a very good argument so I'll just post a little something so I don't get my ass blown off.

And to feeux11, I'm glad you like the story and I really appreciate you pointing those two things out to me. And yes, you are right, I wasn't trying to stay strictly cannon here and I'm not sure if I made a note of that when I started that story. Thank yous for reminding me about that.

So basically this chapter doesn't have a lot of action, a bit of talking. It was originally going to be longer, but I decided that I can wait another chapter or two for the important stuff. Just in case someone misses it, we've done a nice little time skip by two years in the story. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this wimpy excuse for a chapter.

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><p><em>Chapter Eleven: Greatest Success<em>

_December 3, 2551 02:23 Hours _

_Unknown Location_

The rebel trooper shivered in his boots as he stood watch near the entrance to the cave. It wasn't a particularly large camp compared to some of the others. It was more of a safe house for any wounded allies that happened by or from other camps.

The thought of what was going on at the other rebel outposts made the rebel shudder. He had heard the Spartan that was now after them. To them, he was the devil himself.

Survivor accounts stated that the Spartan was dark, ominous and totally merciless until he found someone to spread the word of his doings. And the word spread like wildfire. Entire garrisons wiped out. Half of the prime rebel leaders were dead.

Beheadings…

Torture…

Rumor also had it he sometimes used Covenant wrist blades to do more of his nasty work.

The rebel snorted. Could the Spartan even be referred to as a human being with the acts he committed against the rebels? Sure, they were enemies and the rebels had done their fair share of horrors, but nothing compared to this.

There was a snap nearby. The rebel raised his rifle and turned to the side.

"Who's there?" he called. No answer. "What's the password?"

"Lightening! Asshole…" came the reply. "I need a hand, I gotta slug in my leg." The rebel breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, I'm coming, hang in there." He shouldered his rifle and trotted over to the voice. When he turned around a boulder he felt something hard and cold wrap around his neck and raise him into the air. He gagged but fell still when he saw who was holding him.

The Spartan…

The Spartan stared at him through his darkened visor. He was still, and showed no effort restraining the rebel. The rebel whimpered in fear, trying to release himself from the Spartan's grip.

"How many?"

"What?"

"How many are in the camp?"

"About a…a dozen…" choked the rebel. The grip tightened around his neck. "I'm not l-lying…there's twelve guys. There's some wounded too…and one of our bosses." The Spartan nodded and smashed the rebel against the rock.

Grey looked at the bloodstain on the boulder, then at the crumpled body on the grass. He gathered up the extra ammo and went to the entrance to the camp. No dots appeared on his motion tracker.

The past two years had seemed to pass quickly. Grey had built a dark reputation for himself among the personnel at the base. Most people avoided him besides Samson, Erick and Norman.

He had been on almost a hundred missions by now. All of them black ops; all of them messy, all of them ending in success…

Over thirty major strongholds had been destroyed by Grey. The numbers of the rebels on Mamore were diminished severely- about two entire militia groups. Out of the twelve HVTs, only three were left. Grey couldn't help but smirk, just a little. Soon it would be two.

Grey had been visiting Norman regularly for a time. They had become friends. Grey knew he went there to help him recover fully, but most of the time he went to the clinic just to enjoy his company. And sometimes all they did was just talk about anything other than Grey and his troubles. But after the first year with little progress and Grey deciding which path he should follow, Grey had started to get more nightmares, not only of what happened to his team, but what he was doing. The pain was still with him, as was the anger. He had taught himself to conceal these emotions.

Doing so made him talk little now. His visits with Norman were less frequent. This disappointed Grey, and he knew he shouldn't skip. He felt guilty, because he knew Norman enjoyed talking to Grey.

Grey felt that against his wishes, he was just becoming a soldier. A Spartan…

That's what he was, anyways. A Spartan! He was trained to be a ruthless, killing machine. This was his job. Grey hated telling himself that, but he knew it was the truth. Was it the truth though?

Grey planned on talking to Norman soon. Last time Grey had given him every detail of what happened on Piltran. Norman had listened intently and when it was time to leave, Norman said that he was getting a better grasp on things than his conclusion in their first meeting.

Grey headed into the cave. He only had to go in about fifty meters before he came across the camp. He used his automag to shoot out a few lights that had been set up before switching back to his SMG.

A guard had his back to Grey and was looking around, cussing out loud about the generator.

Grey came up behind him and grabbed the guard by his hair, pulled his head backwards onto the barrel of his SMG and fired half of the clip into him.

Moving into the next part of the cave Grey came across most of the garrison which were tending to the wounded. The room was raggedy. The wounded were on the floor, moaning, covered with dirty bandages.

They all looked up at him. Grey pulled the suppressed assault rifle and held it with one hand, holding the SMG with the other. He unloaded both clips into the garrison, cutting all of them down.

He reloaded both weapons before drawing his automag. Grey walked to each wounded rebel who was left and fired a round into their head.

Grey remembered that in one of his recent conversations with Erick that he still believed that the fighting between humans was wrong. But he reminded Grey that rebels were like weeds. 'You let'em sit for a while and then a whole bunch sprout. You try an' stamp'em out, but more just keep coming.'

The way Grey interpreted it, Erick said that to rid themselves of the rebel menace, they would have to eliminate every single one of them. Grey had recently decided to stop letting people go- they all knew him anyways.

Erick and Grey talked a lot more nowadays. It was sort of like talking to Norman, except Norman was a bit of a fatherly type and Erick could talk to Grey like a friend. Grey hoped he could call him a friend. Grey had to give him credit- Erick could talk and talk while Grey usually said very little. Grey realized it was hard for anyone to have a conversation with him. Probably because he was really fitting into that Lone Wolf persona Erick had mentioned.

_Maybe that's why most people at the base avoid me…_

Grey was still meaning to ask Erick how he had known his name. It still kept Grey intrigued but he was waiting for the right time to ask.

Erick was a good guy but Grey could see that a question like that might cause something to happen. Whether it would be good or bad, he didn't know.

'People do not understand the gravity of words.' Ivan used to say that a lot.

Grey searched for a bit until he found HVT Seven. He was standing as far away as he could. He raised a pistol.

"You think you can scare me!" he yelled. Grey knew he was afraid. HVT Seven was visibly shaking, his voice stuttering. Grey raised his pistol. "You think by killing me this whole-" Grey didn't wait for him to finish.

He had heard enough speeches by the HVTs already. They all seemed to have this common mindset that their final words conveyed some kind of important meaning to their fight. All Grey heard was nonsense.

Silently, Grey turned and exited the cave.

_Six Hours Later…_

Samson laughed as Grey finished telling him the report.

"You didn't even let him finish, that's rather funny." Samson shook his head then cleared his throat, trying to look professional. "Well done. Soon enough we shall be able to take out the rebels on this planet for good- all thanks to you."

Grey nodded, not moving from his seat. He knew Samson wanted to say more. Samson leaned back, sighing as he stared at a terminal screen. "You have become one of my finest assets. I tell you something needs to be destroyed, someone needs to be killed, and you go and get it done. You're very dependable Grey."

Again, Grey responded with a nod. "These rebel assholes are shitting themselves just thinking about you. Their operations have practically stopped. Because of you! You! One man, against everything; truly amazing…" Samson shook his head, holding his chin. "I'm glad we're finally wiping this scum away."

Grey had gathered from what he seen and heard over the past two years that Samson really despised the rebels. And today he had been planning to ask why. _Plans, I gotta lot of those. _

"Sir, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course, my boy!" Grey frowned under his helmet. Samson had grown fond of Grey, calling him 'boy' or 'son'. Grey didn't like it, but never commented about it.

"Why do you hate the rebels so much, sir?" Samson's eyes seemed to drift away for a moment. He was remembering something. Samson took a long, deep breath and slowly exhaled.

"I had a daughter…" he said quietly. "She was all I had left. She was my joy, my happiness…my life- everything. And one day, she was taken away by rebels. I searched as much as I could, but the rebels had her. Murdered her…" Samson looked down, rubbing his eyes. He looked up at Grey. "I swore revenge. That's why I am here. To make every, single one of these monsters pay…" He smiled. "I can compare myself to you and that trooper, on your first mission."

Grey raised an eyebrow under his helmet. "You knew that trooper had undergone unimaginable pain, so you made the enemy pay for it dearly. They murdered my daughter in the most horrendous way, caused me pain beyond grasp…and I am simply making them pay. An eye for an eye, just as you said." Samson nodded. "And you, you are helping me do it. You are my grim reaper. You are my greatest success."

Grey said nothing. _How? How am I your success? _

"Well, anyways, good work today. I have a big mission for you, one that you may not be able to do alone."

_I sincerely doubt that. _"But that will wait until tomorrow. Get some rest."

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><p>AW SHIT, WHAT'S GOIN' ON TOMORROW? I think you guys'll like the next chapter. Probably going to be longer than most, hopefully lots of action, little less talk. Of course, it may take a little while since I'm so friggin' popular OFF THE INTERNET THAN ON IT! BWHAHAHAHA!<p>

*Ahem* What I mean, a lot of people around my school, now that they've got a glimpse of my writing that I started one day during class now ask me to write a little story for them. Tied between that, I've also started my own original story called 'Day of Saints'. If you want to learn about that you should check out my Deviantart profile (RadiationSoap). I recently took down a lot of my writing on their, so you'll see the two prologues for my new story and a prologue to a stupid story I wanted to write. There isn't a lot of information on 'Day of Saints' but I think it will give enough to get a picture of it.

Speaking of pictures...ah, never mind. Thanks for reading.


	13. Chapter 12

__Mhm, it's been a while. Again, writing a (please don't be mad) rather short chapter. I promise that the next one will be longer and when we finally get to the Halo Reach missions, those'll definitely be long. And I understand that you (like, the eight people who read this) want the chapters to be lengthy (especially that pyromaniac with the shotgun, frightening combination) but there's only so much I can put into a chapter without driving myself insane. I too, prefer it when chapters in my favorite stories are long and I don't like it when I write a short chapter.

Now if you want length, you guys should look into my Battlefield 3 Novelization/Continuation. The first god damn chapter is almost seven-thousand words!

Anyways, I'll be uploading the first chapter to that story (I think I'll call it "Saviors") a bit after I upload this. And I promise that I'll try and get the next chapter for this story up. Dual-writing stories, who woulda thunk? And geez, I hope I'm getting this therapy stuff right, because honestly it doesn't seem right.

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><p><em>Chapter Twelve: The Kill of Century <em>

_December 4, 2551 08:00 Hours_

_UNSC Special Operation Headquarters _

Grey and Erick were sitting together in front of Samson's desk. They had both been called by Samson earlier for that assignment he had told Grey of. A squad of troopers was also in the room, standing behind the pair.

Samson entered the office, looking a bit excited.

"Gentlemen, this is going to be the big one. You two are going to be dealing a heavy blow against the rebels' command structure. As you know, rebel activity has decreased greatly, especially with the loss of ten of their most prominent leaders thanks to the lieutenant and his methods."Grey noticed that Erick gave him a disapproving glance. Erick had stated before that the rebel threat had to be wiped out or they would never stop, but there was no need to be so brutal, even if it was just the orders of Samson.

'They may be our enemies, but they're still people.' He would say. And Grey would nod and say he understood when he was really ignoring Erick. Grey liked Erick but didn't like it when Erick would tell him how to do his job.

Samson handed everyone a file. "In there you'll find HVT Two; Morton Matthews, the second in command of all rebel forces remaining on Mamore. And he's in the Beehive."

Grey had heard of the Beehive. A ridiculous name given to an underground system of large tunnels leading to great halls dug by the rebels- a city built inside a mountain. This was relatively the only remaining rebel strongpoint left on Mamore thanks to Grey, and more than once Grey had asked permission to go in and eliminate it. Samson had denied him each time, saying that it was going to be too dangerous even for him.

"So what's the plan, sir?" someone asked.

"The plan is to have the lieutenant and the quartermaster infiltrate the base, disguised as rebels and attend the rally, meeting or whatever they call it in the center of the complex. They are then to track and eliminate HVT Two, and then they'll radio the squad to initiate a decoy attack to give them some cover to escape."

"You want us to go in without armor?" Grey asked. Samson chuckled.

"I know Grey, it sounds a bit risky. But I know you can pull it off. Just stick with Erick, he'll show you how to blend in with his old crowd." Erick smiled and nodded. "Do we all have a firm idea on the plan?"

"Yes sir." Everyone responded.

"Good. Infiltration team's callsign is 'Dagger'; decoy team's callsign is 'Rapier'. Erick and Grey, head to the armory and stock up- you'll find the clothing for you disguises there as well."

Grey had decided to leave his assault rifle for this operation, as he could only conceal his automag and SMG in the coat he was wearing. Both Grey and Erick were now wearing dirty, somewhat raggedy clothing. It was uncomfortable, especially since Grey had to wear someone else's boots that barely fit.

Erick had taken a little dirt and smudged on their faces to complete the look.

"Just stick with Erick, he'll show you how to blend in with his old crowd…" Erick grumbled, mimicking Samson's voice. "What an asshole." Erick didn't like being reminded of his time with the rebels.

"He didn't mean it."

"You bet your ass he did! Samson's never liked the fact that I was with them; but I'm a 'valuable military asset' so he keeps me around." Erick growled and pointed at Grey. "Listen, anything that son of a bitch about us, whether he likes us or not, it's a lie. He only sees everyone and everything under his command as a military asset and will do anything to morph them into killing machines to do his bidding and fulfill his revenge!"

Grey stared at Erick for a moment. Erick was actually angry, something that he had never seen before. It was a rare sight, and Erick wouldn't just explode for no reason.

But Grey, despite his feelings, had felt that he actually belonged here. He was making a difference, for a change. Against the Covenant there had been no victories in the end. Here, the rebels were deteriorating away here.

"Do you really think that?"

"You should too; he told you about his daughter, didn't he? This isn't an operation, just some old man turning humans on humans because he's so bent on revenge. He doesn't care what happens to us, doesn't care that we get hurt, that we get changed, just as long as we bring results."

Grey remembered what Samson said the day before. He hadn't really thought that this whole thing was out of revenge. It couldn't be- Samson was backed by military orders. He had to be.

Erick had said that Samson didn't care if people were changed before of it.

Had Grey changed because of the path he was following? Had he changed because of Samson?

"I'll be back." Grey said quickly and with a brisk pace headed off to Norman's office.

Grey entered the clinic and closed the door quickly. Norman looked up as he finished reapplying some bandages to his forearm.

"Grey? What're you doing here; I thought you were prepping for a mission."

"Erick just went on a rant, and he said that Samson is only here to avenge his lost daughter. That's true right?" Norman sighed.

"Sadly, yes. That's why he's here at least."

"Erick said that Samson doesn't give a damn if he the men under his command become changed because of the orders he gives and making them kill fellow humans." Grey stared at Norman for a moment, who looked back, his eyes widening a bit. "Have I changed?"

"You know the answer to that."

"But who changed me? Was it actually me, or was it Samson and his god damn lessons, orders and missions?" Norman crossed his arms.

"You're not going to like the answer, I think."

"Tell me."

"I'm surprised you didn't figure it out yourself, you're a smart…"

"Just tell me!" the shout was so loud and fierce that it made Norman jump. Grey felt bad for doing so but held his ground, his fists clenched so tightly that they were shaking. He had let his emotions go, and the anger had resurfaced.

"It's both of you actually. You wanted to change, and you let Samson do so." Grey was silent for a moment. "You see, it's what I've figured out. Greyson, I've realized through our talks and what you've been through, you obviously blame yourself for everything that happened on Piltran. I should have seen that it wasn't just blame; you hate yourself Greyson. For letting the team down, for letting your love die, for losing the purpose you once had. You didn't want to be that person anymore; you wanted to erase everything so you could possibly escape it all. So you were willing enough when Samson took you in. Samson is like you and me, filled with pain from a major loss, except he chose a different route- revenge. And with his methods, feelings and lessons, he turned you into the hyper-lethal killer you are today so he could dish out the payback, which I'm sure he's told you."

Grey had sat down, clasping his hands together as Norman talked. Norman had moved over and sat down beside him on the medical table. "You let him change you, and you've known this entire time…just didn't want to admit it…"

"He chose revenge…I chose change…what did you choose Norman?"

"I lost my entire family to the war. I couldn't live with it, so I tried to commit suicide. Three times I tried. First I tried slicing my wrists open, but they found me and stitched me up. Second time I tried to blow my brains out and got caught. Third time, I was drunk and decided to try and incinerate myself behind a ship as it took off." Norman chuckled, holding his arms up. "Somehow I survived that, but not without my entire body being deforming by flame."

Norman sighed sadly. "I gave up. It seemed like…whatever lives up there in the sky…wasn't going to let me die. So I decided to go on and continue patching up the troops. That's the thing Grey, with all of these paths there always time for us to leave it; let things go, keep living, go back to what you once were." Norman put a hand on Grey's shoulder. "Grey, you keep going on like this, letting yourself change, you're going to…"

Grey felt a surge of anger and stood up, slapping Norman's hand away.

"I haven't changed." He said. "I think this is all bullshit."

"Grey…" Norman stood up.

"No, I'm not listening to this anymore. I haven't changed. I don't blame myself." Grey had no idea why he was yelling, trying not to listen to Norman. Was it because he knew Norman was right and he didn't want to believe? That he had been trying to change and he had become as cold as his armor? That he was nothing but a killer? Grey didn't want to believe any of it.

Grey left the clinic, leaving Norman. Norman stood there, alone. He felt sad and hurt. A few tears trickled from his eyes and stained his bandages.

* * *

><p>Seemed kinda rushed, didn't it? Sorry about that. The next one will be better! And I know, at the end of the last chapter I said that this one was going to be longer. Well I changed my mind, as I want this to introduce that chapter (which'll be the next one) and also tell you guys about that Battlefield 3 story.<p>

Anyways, spank you for reading. I mean, thank you for reading.


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